


Jane In All But Name

by razielim



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Tarzan Fusion, Bottom Jason, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Top Percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-11-19 11:16:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11312253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razielim/pseuds/razielim
Summary: Jason is invited to go on an expedition with his boss Reyna and drags along his older sister Thalia. As their group hikes across the foreign wilderness, Jason has to deal with Octavian's advances and the rude comments of the other men in the expedition. When he gets separated from the group, and is left wandering through the jungle, lost and afraid, he thinks this journey is going to be the most miserable experience of his life. Then a certain man drops down from the forest canopy as deftly as any ape...





	1. Discovery of the Ape Man

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to all past readers and betas for still bugging me about this fic and inspiring me to make it available once more. I'll make sure I don't hit a dead end this time. You're all so wonderful and I love you.
> 
> Love, Gabriel

Jason sighed as he packed up his things, carefully rolling up his pencils so the tips wouldn't dull and neatly folding the extra sheets of paper into his notebook. He figured that his things would eventually get messed up during the long course of their trek through the jungle, but he hoped to minimize the damage by taking care of his possessions. Octavian insisted on calling him "prissy" for it.

Shouldering his pack, and looking around to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, Jason hurried after the company that was already out of the clearing.

"You really need to stop falling behind so much before we lose you and you get eaten by a lion."

Jason flushed from anger a little. Not at Thalia- his sister was just teasing him. He pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose and swatted at an insect.

"I've asked Octavian a hundred times to give me a two minute heads up before we start moving again. ...and there's no lions in this jungle."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Leaning closer so no one walking in front of them would hear, Thalia whispered, "But Octavian's an  _asshole_ , so I don't know what you expected."

They shared a grin before returning their gazes to the forest floor, trying not to trip over anything.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason didn’t really mind the hard and fast hiking. He was used to taking his sketchbook on hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains over the weekends, looking for beautiful birds and gorgeous arrangements of branches to sketch. Plus he was lucky enough to have Thalia for a sister, who was constantly dragging him out to help construct housing for the homeless and reading him lectures about eating enough protein.

Despite being completely physically capable of the endurance necessary for their trip, Octavian and his buddies still seemed to think that being a bespectacled artist landed him straight in the realm of weaklings. It’s not that Jason thought they were completely off, it’s that it felt like they were hitting too close to home with their insults. He really wished that he wasn't so insecure about his love of sketching and appreciation of nature’s aesthetics. He knew there was nothing shameful about enjoying the things he did, but somehow he always let taunts about it get under his skin.

It seemed an insult to injury, however, that Octavian also enjoyed making unwelcome passes at him.

The first time was uncomfortable, the second time embarrassing, and every time after that made Jason want to keep to himself more and more. Jason wondered more than a few times if it was maybe a bad idea for someone as introverted as him to go out on a journey through the wilderness with so many strangers. But he was already here, and there was nothing to do about it  other than to turn down Octavian's lascivious offers and bite his tongue as his tormentor's adventurer buddies continued to mock him and his meticulously cared for art supplies.

Reyna had dropped back and smiled as Jason and Thalia approached her. Jason waved back and she fell into stride at his side. Jason felt grateful for having both his sister and his boss here. The first few days, it had added ammo to the men’s insults that he was constantly spending time being “coddled” by women, but Thalia and Reyna eventually set them straight about how they weren't going to tolerate any sexism on this trip. Jason didn’t really want to think this, since it was probably rather sexist too, but it only made him feel more downtrodden that his two companions had more of a backbone than he did.

By the time Octavian called a halt for the night, Jason was so submerged in his negative thinking that he was feeling physically exhausted, even though they hadn't been moving particularly faster than normal.

Thalia found them a spot to spread their sleeping bags out, and after looking around at her options, Reyna dropped her gear next to Thalia's. Jason smiled as he sat on his canvas bag and unrolled his pencils from the paper they were wrapped in, settling in to draw something quickly before bed. When Reyna had invited him on this trip, he was certain he didn't want to go without his sister. Unfortunately, Thalia could be a very combative person and he was always worried about asking her to go places. Seeing Reyna and Thalia get along and be friendly with each other was a relief, since Reyna was no shrinking violet herself when she got into it with people.

The snap of a twig behind him and to his right made Jason jump. Octavian was standing right behind him, curiously peering down into Jason's journal. The man had just come from lighting the fire and smelled strongly of it. It would have been a nice smell, a  _sexy_  smell, even, if Octavian's personality didn't make Jason want to scream in frustration.

"What's the point of drawing birds and branches, Grace? You can always just walk around with a camera instead."

Jason tried to keep the frown off his face.

"If I enjoyed photography, I would be happy to snap pictures."

Octavian snorted and crouched down until he was eye-level with Jason.

"If you must draw, why such a boring subject matter? Drawing the human figure would be much more exciting."

"I don't really see how."

Octavian leaned in with a grin and Jason knew he wouldn't like what he heard next. He tried to shift away a little, already bracing for the discomfort.

"I could pose for you. In... various stages of undress," Octavian bit his lip and let it slip sensually from his teeth before continuing, "We can see how long it takes for me to get excited under your intense scrutiny."

Jason shifted away further.

"That sort of thing would make me uncomfortable."

Octavian's sneer at getting shot down yet again was menacing. He clicked his tongue as he stood up.

"Maybe some other time, then."

Jason wasn't really sure how that even made sense, but he bit his tongue and went back to sketching the beautiful patterns the foliage made against the darkening sky. Thalia nudged him and gave him a thumbs up. Jason tamed the grin that threatened to break out into a small smile. No need to antagonize Octavian if he was looking- it would probably only make him more unpleasant.

It's not that Jason had anything against the human figure. If he had any privacy available to him, there would be more than one male nude in his sketchbook. But with Octavian lurking around and the other thugs in the expedition always on the lookout to ridicule Jason, he wasn't about to reveal his sexuality. He had a few sketches of his sister and Reyna, but he had quickly gotten bored of drawing women. He'd briefly played with the idea of sketching two of Octavian's employees, Nick and Will, who always sat in an almost intimate proximity, but decided that would be a quick way to out himself if anyone saw. And get brutally pummeled by said pair for reading too much into their friendship. 

If Jason was being honest, his favorite thing to draw was his Ideal Man. It was the only thing Jason ever drew from his imagination, and the only thing he never tired of drawing. His Ideal Man always turned out different, as Jason had trouble deciding on what the perfect lover would look like. There were only a few details that he based his sketches on. The Ideal Man had to have a very fit body, long eyelashes, and a serious but not unkind mouth. His most recent sketches of this man had taken a turn for the tall, dark, and handsome, with mischievous eyes. There was a specific image finally solidifying in his mind, after years of chasing it, but he'd left for this trip before he had a chance to capture it on paper.

At this thought, Jason had to shake himself. He was starting to pine for an imaginary figure again, and with the sort of miserable mood he was already in today, that was simply a bad idea. Putting his supplies away with his drawing half finished, he joined the women's debate about the likelihood of discovering a new species of mammal on such an expedition.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason woke up feeling a lot less stressed than when he'd gone to bed. He lay for a long time, listening to men snoring in their sleep or groaning as they stretched. Jason loved how even past the boundary of their camp, the forest was full of noise at all times of day and night. People talk about the "silence" and "quiet" of nature, but neither of these two things were to be found here. The birds were currently singing and wind was brushing through the leaves of both the canopy and the underbrush. And of course, there was the ever-present ever-annoying hum of insects. Jason slapped something as it landed on his arm and rolled over onto his stomach with a grunt.

He was so comfortable right now, and he really didn't want to waste his good mood by getting up and having to deal with the other members of the expedition. Finally, slowly and with a lot of stretching, he got up and started packing his things up, determined to carry his good mood through breakfast. He helped the women with their things when they got up too. Both Reyna and Thalia complained that they could take care of things themselves, but he knew they were grateful for the extra couple minutes of private time out of sight of camp. The other hikers weren't too big on hygiene and often rushed the women, who craved a few extra minutes in the morning.

By the time breakfast was served and eaten, Jason was in an even better mood than when he woke up, almost entirely because he was so surprised that he hadn't had to deal with any verbal abuse or sexual advances yet. He shouldered his pack with a smile on his face, and set off after their guide, at a pace that left everyone else throwing him weird looks and scrambling to catch up.

The guide, for his part, looked both amused and excited to see the man that normally trailed behind keeping up with him so easily. Charon, that was the guide's name, was a tall man and looked like he was used to taking wider steps then he could while leading a bunch of tripping and panting Americans. Invigorated by Jason's enthusiasm, he pushed through the jungle harder and faster than normal, and threw a smile over his shoulder every time he looked back and saw Jason keeping up without a problem. 

"You know, it's really refreshing to see you up front, Jason."

Jason spared a glance and a smile in Octavian's direction for the sake of being polite as the other man caught up to him. 

"It really provides a nice view for anyone walking behind you."

Jason's already thin smile slipped off his face entirely. He did not need this right now.

"That's highly inappropriate, Octavian."

"Just paying you a compliment."

"I don't want it."

Octavian slid up to him and hissed in his ear.

" _Please_. It's  _exactly_  what you want, isn't it? I've been to Reyna's office. Flipped through that sketchbook on your desk. It's  _all_  you want, isn't it? A big, strong man to show your tight ass a good time?  _That_  what you fantasize about while you space out "bird watching"? Getting  _fucked_  by a nice, fat cock? Don't tell me-"

Jason stopped in his tracks, and Octavian passed him by in his momentum, spinning around to challenge Jason with his glare. Jason tried to think of something to say, his cheeks burning. Then he spun on his heel and walked back to where his sister and Reyna were. At the curious glances from the other adventurers, he set his face into one of determination, like he had an urgent reason to be walking to the back. They let him pass unmolested. Luckily, they'd been far enough behind to not see what happened through the foliage. 

Thalia looked like she was about to ask what was wrong, but Jason just shook his head and walked past both her and Reyna, actually feeling the two women exchanging glances after his passing. Once he was far enough away, he stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around to keep walking forward again.

He kept his distance as they continued their hike up some tricky terrain. Every once in a while, he caught glimpses of Thalia looking back at him in concern, but he didn't acknowledge her and dropped back out of sight. He tried not to kick the ground in frustration, but there were a lot of leaves on the ground and it was tempting to throw a tantrum. Instead, he stared at the forest floor and imagined how much noise he could make if he lost his temper and started kicking leaves up. 

He was so concentrated on this imagined racket and rustling, that the silence of reality suddenly struck him and jarred him out of his thoughts. He stopped, listening for his fellow travelers. Nothing. Just the constant ebb and flow of animal and plant sounds that were the natural orchestra of the jungle. He gave a sharp shout and listened. Nothing.

Trying not to panic, Jason broke out into a run in the direction he'd been heading. He deftly jumped low hanging vines and ducked under large drooping leaves, staring forward, determined to prove to himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He'd see Thalia right around that tree. No, that one. Or the next one.

He stepped on a patch of leaves and something went wrong. They didn't hold his weight. As his footing failed and he started careening to one side and sliding to the other, Jason swiveled terrified eyes to his left and saw no forest floor there, only layers upon layers of branches. He'd been running along the edge of a cliff and been so focused on looking forward that he didn't even notice.

His body hit the ground hard as he slipped down the treacherous slope almost vertically. Sharp rocks dug into his arm and thigh on his right side as branches snagged and tore at him from the other side. Jason squeezed his eyes shut, afraid of having them poked out and tried to grab at something-  _anything_ \- to slow his descent. There was nothing but the quickly passing rocks that cut his fingers as he tried to grab at them. Jason's only hope to avoid injury at the bottom of the cliff was to try to relax his legs to minimize impact.

No sooner did he do that than he hit the ground. He lay panting for a while before finally opening his eyes, one at a time, and looking about nervously. No wild animals ready to spring and eat him. He sat up. The cliff face had curved out a bit at the bottom, making his landing even softer than he could have hoped for. Shaking with adrenaline, Jason carefully stood up and looked around. This part of the jungle seemed like any other part that he'd been in. He glanced back up at the cliff. There was no way he could scale it, and he couldn't even see the top behind so many leaves.

He should probably stay here. Even if his travelling party couldn't see him when they doubled back to search for him, they'd be able to call out and hear his response. With that thought in mind, Jason took a deep breath and relaxed against the rocks he'd slid down onto. His body felt like one big bruise after the fall, with many cuts and scrapes on his hands and forearms, but he was so grateful that there were no serious injuries that he considered them a small price to pay.

He sat there a long time, maybe a couple hours of listening intently for a search party, before he heard the hissing. His stomach tightened up and he tried to keep from making any sudden movements as he turned his head toward the sound. Above him and to his left, draped across thick roots protruding from the rock face was a giant constrictor, watching him. Jason gulped and started moving away. The snake struck out with its head in a sharp motion, and Jason just barely managed to lie flat against the ground to escape the sudden blow.

Constrictors might not be venomous, but he really wasn't interested in finding out how much those huge fangs hurt. He scrambled to his feet the next moment. He'd taken off his canvas pack that contained all his hiking supplies earlier, and now it was way too close to the snake to reach for. As he started to sprint, still half hunched over from not having the time or thought to straighten up, he felt his drawing supplies slip from his shoulder. He half spun around to retrieve it, but caught one glimpse of the muscular snake already on the ground and slithering toward him, and spun right back around to keep running. 

Terror gripped him as he realized that there could be even worse than snakes to look out for, even if he did manage to escape, and he pumped his legs faster. He ran until his lungs ached, and then until his legs felt weak, and still didn't dare slow down. Bursting through the foliage as he was, he had no chance to see the river until it was too late. With a cry of surprise, he fell face first into cold water. Shocked and bewildered, it took him a while to surface. Once he had that first gasp of air, though, he was right back to sprinting for his life, not sure which species of snakes could swim and not wanting to take his chances. He was almost to the opposite bank when he thought of alligators and a chill ran down his spine.

This time, full panic broke out, and Jason started pumping water under his arms so blindly that he didn't realize he'd reached the riverbank until his hand struck soil, and then he was out of there like a bullet, staring with horrified eyes at the water and trying to catch his breath despite his chest feeling like it was collapsing from pure primal fear. 

When a few minutes passed and no alligators or crocodiles or snakes surfaced, and his breath finally started to even out, Jason let himself relax, and fall back onto the earth. He stared at the sky in complete and utter disbelief. How the hell was he going to be found now? How far had he run? He had no idea. He couldn't remember which direction he'd run from, or even if he'd run in a straight line.

Not that he was about to retrace his steps anytime soon. He propped himself up on his elbows, took one look at the murky water, and shuddered. There must have been a cataract nearby to kick up all those dirt particles into the water, and with such low visibility, there was no telling what was lying in wait under the surface. Jason stood up on weak and trembling legs and looked around. Deciding that his best bet was downstream, he started walking in that direction. Technically, this should be parallel to the general direction the expedition had been heading. And if he managed to get far enough downstream, he might reach a place where the sediment in the water finally started to settle and made the river less dangerous to cross.

He had walked less than an hour when he suddenly felt like he was being followed. There wasn't any sound, and he couldn't see anything when he turned around, but the feeling of eyes on his back was more intense than he'd ever felt before in his life. He took one last long look behind him. Nothing.

Then he started to sprint.

He ran parallel with the river, not daring to sprint into the trees. There was no hiding from any predators at the bank, but it was his only chance of not getting even more hopelessly lost. Finally, just as he was about to slow down, he heard evidence of being chased. Closing in, closer and closer, he could hear the bushes in the forest rustling. Whatever was chasing him was staying in the cover of the forest. Jason ran faster. Suddenly the noise behind him vanished. Jason didn't stop, unsure if silence was a good or a bad sign.

Then something dropped five feet in front of him and Jason screamed, falling backwards as he tried to slide to a stop.

Except it wasn't a some _thing_. It was a some _one_ , and he looked very familiar.


	2. Curiosity of the Ape Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that [Glory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9087616) is complete, this fic will be updated weekly. I'm all on track with the plot and how it ends. :)

In front of him stood his Ideal Man.

Jason was vaguely aware of his jaw hanging loosely, but couldn't seem to get any control of it. He was staring at _The Ideal Man_ , who was dressed in only a leathery loincloth and looked like nothing short of fiction colliding with reality. Jason was absolutely  _positive_  he must have hit his head at some point during his mad dash through the jungle.

There were a few features on this man that he never would have thought to draw- lightly slanted almond eyes rather than more masculine hooded ones, a bronze complexion rather than a more pale one like Jason's, wild short hair rather than gracefully combed tresses, and scars-  _so many scars_. Jason couldn't help but confound the limitation of his own imagination for not having been able to capture details like that, as all of these things made the man more beautiful than Jason could have dreamed up. The Ideal Man possessed all the important identifying details present too- a tall and muscular body like a Greek statue, long eyelashes blinking slowly over playful eyes, dark hair, and lips firmly set into a pensive line with just a hint of mischief tugging at the corner.

The Ideal Man moved forward, and Jason scrambled backwards. The man put his hands out, palms forward, like he was trying not to startle a wild animal, and moved closer again. Jason held still, wondering what the other man was thinking and why he hadn't spoken yet. He was about to start speaking and introduce himself when the man dropped on all fours between his legs and cautiously crawled closer. Words died in Jason's mouth as he tried not to squeak at the invasion of personal space.

The man got so close to his face, Jason thought he would faint. Then the Ideal Man sniffed him. Sniffed his face- tilted his head and sniffed his neck- then ducked down and sniffed his- Jason shot a hand out and pushed the man's face away from his crotch.

" _Hey!_  What do you think you're doing?"

The man backed away a bit, unperturbed, and went back to studying Jason quietly. 

"Who are you, anyway?"

The man made a few soft noises and Jason leaned back with surprise. The vocalizations sounded a lot like the kind that monkeys and apes made. A little concerned, Jason tried again.

"Do you speak English?"

The Ideal Man tilted his head and crawled closer again. Jason scooted backwards, but the man kept up until he finally pressed a hand against Jason's chest and pushed down hard. Jason ended up on his back, squirming, and trying his best not to panic. Why the hell was the man not  _speaking?_

The man's hand darted out and grabbed the glasses off Jason's nose.

"Hey!"

The glasses snapped out of the man's fingers, held back by the cord around Jason's neck. Looking rather frustrated, the man reached forward and jerked the cord up over Jason's head. Jason made to stop him, but his fingers didn't manage to close over the thin rope before it was out of reach and the man was shuffling backwards away from Jason.

"Wait! Hold- I need those to  _see!_ "

Jason scrambled onto his hands and knees and made his way to the blurry figure that was still backing away. Realizing that he was being ridiculous, Jason carefully stood up and walked to the other man, holding his hands in front of him just as the other had a few moments ago. He squinted, trying to make out the man to see what he was doing with his glasses.

Suddenly, the man came hurrying back and Jason nearly tumbled over backwards in surprise. He reached out a hand to steady himself against the other man, but the arm he grabbed drew back sharply just as his fingers closed around it, and Jason fell forward instead. Flushing instantly, Jason pulled his face away from where it had landed against the man's warm, sweaty chest. He looked up in apology.

"S-sorry- I- I, uh..." He gestured at the glasses still in the man's hands, "I need those to see."

Ideal Man gave a curious head tilt, then lifted the glasses up and over to settle them and the cord as he had found them on Jason's head. His vision restored, Jason gave a relieved sigh and felt at the glasses to make sure that, yes, they were really there, safe and sound. He gave a cautious smile to the man, who stared blankly at him for a bit, then reciprocated with a wide, feral grin. Jason made a step back, so unnerved by the smile which didn't match at all his vision of debonair smirks and subtle glances that the Ideal Man would have in his arsenal. If anything, this smile was goofy and a little frightening. Jason cleared his throat.

"So... My name is Jason," he placed a hand on his chest, " _Jason_." Then he almost placed a hand on the man's chest, but restrained himself from actually making contact at the last moment. "And your name is?"

The man stared at him, more than a little confused. Jason tried again, hand over his heart.

" _Jason_. My  _name_  is  _Jason_.  _Your_  name is..." he let his fingers lightly touch the other man's sternum, trying to ignore the memory of that muscular chest pressing against his cheek.

The man stirred at the touch, looking between Jason and the hand, then made a step forward against the fingers. Jason quickly retracted his hand, afraid of having offended the man.

" _Purr_... s- Purr- _s.._."

Jason watched the man's mouth move, concerned about this development. Ideal Man seemed to really be struggling with the sounds he was forming. How could someone mimic animal sounds so well and fail at human speech? On the man's fourth attempt to enunciate his name, Jason was struck with recognition.

" _Percy?_ "

The man broke out into another broad grin, and made a single, slow nod.

" _Percy_." Ideal Man let his fingers brush briefly over his own chest before pressing his hand firmly to Jason's, " _Jason_."

The names came out mangled and overdrawn, but Jason gave a small smile and nodded in encouragement anyway. The man, Percy, looked excited for a few moments, and then his face shifted to confusion. He reached his hand up to fiddle with Jason's glasses.

" _Nnname?_ "

He was so surprised by the man picking up the word so easily, that Jason couldn't even figure out what he was asking at first, 

"Uh- glasses.  _Gla_ -sses. I use them for seeing. Glasses."

Percy tried to repeat the word, but it came out more " _glass_ " with a very long " _s_ ". Jason huffed a laugh, somehow proud of the man's attempt. Not bad for someone that had trouble saying his own name just a moment ago.

Percy reached out for Jason's shirt.

"Name?"

"Uh,  _shirt_. That's a shirt."

"Name?"

"Those are my pants.  _Pants_."

" _Paaans._ " Percy looked around for what else he could ask Jason about. He kneeled down. "Name?"

"That's- those are my boots.  _Boots_."

" _Boots_." Percy stood up again and stared into Jason's eyes. He pulled carefully at Jason's glasses, and Jason reached up to take them off his ears and let them dangle from his neck. Percy's finger strayed close to Jason's eye, and Jason hurriedly shut it, worried about going blind if the man poked him. A gentle finger stroked over his eyelid a few times.

"Name."

"Eye." Jason pointed at both of his closed eyes with two fingers. "Eyes." Then at just one. "Eye."

Percy's fingers stroked over his lips and Jason couldn't help the way his breath hitched at the intimate, tickling contact. The man's thumb pulled at his bottom lip a bit, and Jason swallowed, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and insecure, his longing for intimate contact sharp in his chest. He opened his eyes to ground himself a little. Percy looked fascinated.

"Name?"

"Mou-  _lips_. I mean-" He gestured around his whole mouth, " _Mouth_." Then poked both of his lips. " _Lips_."

Percy stared for a little while longer, letting the word "lips" roll off his tongue silently. Then he brushed his knuckles over Jason's ear.

"Name."

"Unh- t-that's my ear.  _Ear_."

Percy touched his other ear too, and carefully enunciated. "Earzzz."

Jason blinked at him. Fast learner.

"Yes, that's correct." He nodded in encouragement. " _Ears_."

Percy grinned again, proud of his guess, but this smile was a little smaller than the ones before, a little more earnest. It took Jason's breath away. He jumped when Percy's hands, which had been trailing down his arms, brushed over cuts on his forearms. Percy jerked in response. Jason gave him a guilty smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to- My arms hurt is all."

There was no recognition in Percy's eyes and Jason pulled his wrists out of Percy's hands. He twirled his hands a bit.

"My arms. They hurt." He wrapped the appendages around his waist protectively to prevent the man from grabbing where his wounds were again.

Percy flapped his own hands. "Armzz."

Sighing, Jason let his hands drop and touched Percy's. 

" _Hands_." Then let his hands trail up Percy's arms to his shoulders, and then back down to his fingers, his fingertips electrified by the gentle contact with smooth flesh. " _Arms_."

" _Hurt?_ "

Jason showed off the bruised and scabbed underside of his own forearm.

" _Hurt_."

Percy's face set in recognition, then concern. He grabbed at Jason's arms before Jason could pull them back, more gently this time, but it still made him nervous. Percy examined the wounds closely, peeking under Jason's sleeves, which he wore rolled up to the elbow, to see if there were any more wounds there. Then he grabbed the back of Jason's neck, and started walking, pulling Jason with him.

" _Whoa!_  Wait- I, I'm  _lost_. I have  _friends_ I need to find."

Percy gave him a critical look over his shoulder and kept pulling him.

"Jason  _hurt_."

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

After walking through the forest at a brisk pace for some time, Percy led him out into a small clearing, and motioned for him to stay in the center while he walked to the shrubbery. Jason let his gaze wander over his surroundings, wondering why Percy led him to this specific place when it looked like any other clearing. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously where the skin was slick with sweat from Percy holding him by the nape this whole time. The man kneeled to dig through the leaves of a plant, collecting something. 

Jason had to look away in embarrassment suddenly when the man straightened his legs, but stayed bent over, giving Jason a good view of his rear. After a while, he dared to sneak a peek. The man certainly had a good body from every angle. His muscles all over were developed and defined but lean. They flexed enticingly under his skin as Percy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, picking meticulously through the leaves. If Jason were to ever have a  _live_  model for his drawings, he would certainly nominate Percy as his first choice.

Percy came back to him with a neat little pile of berries nestled in his hands. He dropped them on the ground and started pulling at Jason's shirt and gesturing and hissing.

"Shirt.  _Shirt!_ "

It took Jason a moment to process. 

"Y-you want me to take my shirt off?"

Percy tugged at the shirt again and pulled it out from where it was tucked into Jason's pants. Jason pushed his hands away.

"Okay! Okay! Yes. Shirt off.  _Off_."

He unbuttoned the shirt and, taking a deep breath, slipped out of it, very self-conscious about his own body while standing next to Adonis Percy. Percy didn't seem to pay any attention to his appearance, though, pulling Jason down to the ground and sitting with his legs crossed. Jason mirrored him.

Percy took Jason's wrist in one hand, and one of the berries he'd collected in his other hand. He smushed the vibrantly violet berry against Jason's skin and rubbed the bright orange juices around. Jason hissed and tried to pull his arm back, but Percy held fast, only making one of his slow nods and muttering, "Jason _hurt_ ," in response. Jason tried to relax and ignore the pain, assuming the other man knew what he was doing. By the time Percy was done treating the cuts and bruises on Jason's arms, shoulders, and parts of his side, the juice where he first applied it stung less, and there was a tickling numb sensation.

Percy leaned back to admire his handiwork. Then he grabbed Jason's ankle, almost tipping Jason over in the process, and pushed away the pant leg and sock so he could examine the skin there. He let go of Jason's ankle.

"Pants off."

Jason didn't move.

"W-what?"

"Jason hurt. Pants  _off_."

Jason groaned and stood up. Percy watched him. Completely uncomfortable, Jason turned around and started pulling off his boots and socks. He was about to undo his belt when he saw Percy crawling around him, curiously trying to see what Jason was doing. Jason let out an undignified squawk and turned away again, looking over his shoulder to make sure Percy was behind him. This time Percy did a roll to come up in front of him, and grinned up at Jason. Oh,  _God_. The man thought this was a game.

" _No_ , Percy."

He threw a glare at the man and turned around one last time, completely flustered by the attention he was getting. This time, Percy grabbed him by the elbows and spun him back around forcibly, holding him in place with strong hand on his biceps. He seemed confused and was squinting down at Jason's belt to see what was so interesting about it. Then, he dropped to his knees in front of Jason and reached for the belt.

" _No!_ "

Jason stumbled away, blocking Percy's hands.

" _No?_ "

Jason grimaced and set his hands on his hips to try to portray his anger to the other man. Percy seemed to get it. He sank down to sit on the ground and, grabbing his own ankles, watched Jason apprehensively. Jason felt a little bad about yelling and freaking out and making such a fuss. After all, the guy was just trying to help him with his wounds. But still... he wouldn't be able to bear that sort of embarrassment. He turned around and undid his belt. Glancing over his shoulder to find Percy still sitting obediently in the same spot, Jason undid his pants too, and slipped them off.

He turned around and faced Percy, holding his pants in front of him like a protective shield. 

"Pants off," he said softly to convey his apology.

Percy tilted his head, then got up and made a run for Jason's discarded belt, careful to stay out of reach once he had it, like he was worried Jason might snatch it back. He played with it a little, making the buckle jingle. Finally, he turned back to Jason and held the belt up.

"Name?"

Jason sighed, in relief, glad he didn't upset the other man too much.

"Belt. That's a belt. For pants."

Percy looked down at Jason's pants that he was holding, then his own loincloth. Pulling the belt between two hands, he tried to wrap it around his waist. Jason watched him fumble with it for a while before he finally dropped the pants he'd been clutching, and went to help the guy figure out a buckle.

He reached forward carefully, palms showing, and looked questioningly at Percy. Taking a moment to consider it, Percy turned to square his shoulders to Jason as permission to approach. With shaking, nervous fingers, Jason took the two ends of the belt and fastened them together, slowly so Percy could watch.

"Put on.  _Put_ -  _on_ \- belt."

After Percy nodded and repeated the words, Jason undid the buckle.

"Jason _take_   _off_  belt."

He handed the belt ends to Percy and stepped away. Percy tried the actions for himself. Then he looked up at Jason with a grin.

"Put on. Take off."

"Yes." Jason nodded.

Percy let the belt slide from around his waist and dangle from his hand as he closed the distance between them again, stepping right into personal territory. 

Jason held his breath as Percy looped his arms around his waist to get the belt in place, his skin softly brushing against Jason's here and there. He could feel the hot air from Percy's open mouth caress his neck and chest. Percy's fingers brushed against the skin just above his underwear and it was all Jason could do not to moan at the contact. How many years had he yearned for the touch of another man there? Fastening the buckle quicker than before, Percy stepped back to admire his handiwork. He nodded slowly.

" _Yesss?_ " He repeated the nodding motion.

Jason nodded back, "Yes."

Then Percy put his hands in front of himself like he was bracing.

" _No?_ "

Jason mirrored the gesture, recognizing the motion from when he'd pushed Percy away earlier. He stepped away with one foot for good measure.

"No."

Percy nodded his understanding.

"Take off belt Jason, yes?"

At Jason's nod, he grinned and strode back to undo the accessory. Tossing it away, he pulled Jason by the neck to where the berries were and pushed him to sit. 

Percy dropped down next to Jason, and grabbed one of his legs to pull it toward him, returning to his task of working on the injuries. As he worked, he asked how to say certain things. Jason taught him "heal", "stomach", "chest", "shoulder", "neck," and "cheek". Percy moved on to the other leg and worked quietly for a bit before asking about "feet" and "legs" (Jason also threw in "shin" and "thigh") and, much to Jason's embarrassment, "groin"-

He smacked Percy's hand away with a yelp, readjusting quickly to make his half-chub less obvious.

" _No!_ "

"No?"

Percy's eyes seemed to be struggling between portraying shock and amusement. Then he broke out in a flurry of excited movement, one hand tapping fingers against Jason's cheek. Jason felt like the air had been snapped out of his lungs- Percy's smile in that moment was stunning.

"Cheek! Cheek  _name?_ "

Jason just blinked at him. Percy asked again, this time trailing his fingers over Jason's ear and down his neck too. Jason shook his head, shivering under the touches.

"I don't understand."

Frustrated, Percy reached out his other hand to Jason's pelvis, and  _again_ , Jason reflexively pushed his hand away, glancing towards his pants, feeling his blush get heavier-

" _Cheek!_  Name?"

Jason looked up at his companion, realization dawning.

"Blush? Th-that's a blush."

"Blush..." Percy trailed off, looking up for a moment, before stumbling into what he wanted to say next. "Percy... Per- nn- Percy-" the man stopped again to think, chewing his bottom lip in concentration. He made eye contact and tried one more time, "Percy... Jason blush."

Jason stared blankly. Percy made a few disgruntled noises, obviously annoyed by not having the words to express himself, and went back to treating Jason's leg quietly, moving his mouth as he silently recited the words he'd learned so far.

When he finished, he stood up, and gave Jason an impatient look. "Belt shirt pants put on."

" _Clothes_." At Percy's confused look, Jason motioned to all the items mentioned in a circular gesture. "Belt shirt pants are named  _clothes_."

Percy nodded.

"Jason put on  _clothes_."

No sooner did Jason shrug on his shirt and glance around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, than Percy was disappearing through the trees, forcing Jason to run to catch up

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy found things to eat as he led Jason through the jungle, stopping here and there to climb a tree for some fruit, crawl into a bush for some berries, or dig in the ground for questionable-looking, but rather tasty roots.

As they made their way through the forest, Jason taught Percy new words. "Tree," "flower," "fruit," "sky." By the time Jason was feeling full from all the grazing, he was starting to forget which words Percy already knew and which he had yet to teach, especially since Percy seemed incredibly adept at extracting words from Jason's casual speech and inferring their definitions. He'd managed to figure out "like" on his own. After Jason explained "don't like," and then a few minutes later "want," Percy also puzzled together "don't want."

Jason found his mind reeling at this discovery of aptitude, especially since, whenever Percy wasn't reciting English words, he was talking to himself in what was a distinctly ape-like language. Jason was starting to piece together the unlikely theory that Percy  _grew up_  in the forest away from the cultural influence of even the small town Charon was from.

_Chew on that, Octavian._

Octavian's whole expedition was to survey certain sites for possible excavations in the future, to support a theory he had about human development. Jason wasn't an anthropologist or an archaeologist, but his head spun from the feeling that he was learning more about mankind, and what _exactly_ it was capable of, than anything Octavian could read in the ashes of old hearths and extract from old trashpiles. Right now, walking next to Percy, listening to him softly label the world around them in broken English, Jason felt that he might be the only person in the world that was privy to a crucial secret about human destiny.

It occurred to Jason, after they crossed a shallow river, that Percy had stopped looking for food and was moving as if he was tracking something. Percy's attention completely otherwise occupied, Jason let his eyes wander over powerful muscles.

Percy stopped abruptly, and Jason snapped his head up guiltily. There were noises coming from up ahead. Leaning over to see past Percy's shoulder, he saw-

Jason snapped his gaze away. 

Percy laughed and turned to him, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him forward. His finger pointed excitedly at two rodent-like animals rutting in a shallow burrow.

"Jason!  _Name?_ "

Jason sputtered.

"Th-that- s-" he heaved a breath through his lungs bracingly, "God, that's  _sex_ , Percy.  _Sex_." He kicked himself for not saying something more abstract. Maybe "procreation."

" _Sex_..." Percy rolled the word on his tongue. He turned to Jason with a grin, and then stopped short with a look of surprise. It was short-lived, however, as  _another_  grin, this one much more mischievous pulled his lips wide.

"Jason  _blush_ ," and then, with an excited glimmer of recognition, "Percy  _like_  Jason blush."

Jason was stunned.  _That's_  what Percy had been trying to say earlier? He sputtered a little, glared a little, but found no response, so he shrugged Percy's hand off his neck and marched forward, past the fornicating animals. Percy gave a short giggle and pushed past him to lead the way once more.

The sky was starting to turn a pale orange, the way it did every evening as the sun began the last part of its descent. Soon it would turn red, and then fade out to a deep purple before turning black for the night, leaving Jason far away from the security of his fellow hikers and alone in the wilderness with a stranger. A, so far, rather  _kind_ stranger, but- 

He heard voices. 

His spirits immediately perked up, and he waded two large steps with the intent to break out into a run when Percy's arm snapped out in front of his waist and held him back.

Percy leveled him with a serious look.

" _No_."

After that, they traveled slowly, with Percy intently listening to the human commotion up ahead. Soon, they could see the glow of the firelight gently pulsing through the darkening foliage. Percy stopped and turned to look at Jason. His hand reached out to loosely hold Jason's forearm.

"Jason..." he struggled with his words for a moment, rolling his eyes skyward as they narrowed in concentration, "Percy  _like_  Jason. Jason  _heal_. No hurt."

Jason nodded.

"Jason like Percy  _too_. So, you take care."

Percy dipped his head thoughtfully, looking like he was going to say something else, but then shook his head, looking a little frustrated. He sighed and looked into Jason's eyes, studying him for a moment.

Then he leaned in.

Jason barely bit back a yelp as Percy's nose brushed against the side of his. He kept expecting warm lips on his own, but Percy only nuzzled him deeply, pushing hard enough against Jason's face that he had to step back to brace himself. When it didn't look like Percy was going to stop anytime soon, Jason let his eyes slip shut and returned the favor, brushing forehead, nose, and cheek against him. He sighed at the rather intimate and pleasurable farewell. He heard the sticky telltale sound of Percy grinning and then the next moment, the man was pulling away.

Once more confronted with Percy's gaze, Jason gulped. His lips tingled at the dissatisfaction. What would it be like, if he  _just_ -

Jason leaned forward and pecked Percy on the lips.

Percy looked a bit like he wanted to smile but was too genuinely touched by Jason's gesture to manage.

" _Kiss_."

Then Jason pivoted on his heel, feeling Percy’s warm fingers slip off his arm, and sprinted towards the firelight.


	3. Generosity of the Ape Man

Percy gripped the next vine as he let his feet slip from the branch. He tightened his core muscles to keep himself secure as the vine arched over and deposited him neatly at another tree.

He couldn’t stop smiling today. If one of his brothers saw him, they might think he’d hit his head, but he couldn’t help the lazy way he reached for the next vine and dreamily all but floated off the branch.

His next few swings were short connections without touching down on any branches and they brought him out to the part of the river where he’d first spotted Jason yesterday. He jumped down onto the bank, and started retracing the other man’s footsteps, curious about how the man had gotten so injured.

He walked leisurely, thinking about how Jason's appearance was so similar to his. The dark-skinned men who lived at the edge of the forest looked like Percy too, of course, but Jason was _different_. Until yesterday, Percy had thought he was the only light man in the jungle, kind of like that white crocodile that lived further down the river- shaped similarly to his fellow crocodiles but obviously mismatched. Percy briefly wondered, not for the first time, if the crocodile was as sad about his condition as Percy was, or if crocodiles could even feel sad in the first place.

His mind drifted back to Jason.

_Jason._

The man was _tall_ , but nowhere near the height of the men in the nearby town, and certainly not as skinny as they were. He was wider, heavier, stronger, with less bones and more muscle. Percy had been surprised to see and feel his body's more square shape. Jason looked like the type of animal that was better suited to stand and fight than run and hide, so his attempt to escape Percy the day before had been rather amusing. Perhaps it was only that Jason was in unfamiliar territory, and was actually quite fearsome in his own land.

Percy broke out in a giant grin again as he thought about Jason’s flushed cheeks. He knew the feeling- the burning in his face when something startled or embarrassed him, but it wasn’t until he saw it on Jason’s face that he realized that the heat was a visible phenomenon. He'd never seen it appear on a gorilla's face. Percy wondered idly if his own face looked as vulnerable and prey-like when he blushed.

He’d meant what he’d told Jason, about liking the blush. It made Jason look submissive. Not in the pathetic way that weak gorillas grovel for mercy from Kerchak, but in the earnest way mates yielded to each other in tender moments.

 _That_ thought made _Percy_ blush, and he laughed joyfully at the realization. He very much wanted to play with Jason the way the troop of blackbacks to the east played with each other, but…

He bit his lip. He’d never seen any of the men in the town engage in that sort of thing, probably because there were females there, just like in Percy’s own troop. He wondered if Jason would be interested in that sort of thing.

Probably not, judging from his reactions the day before to Percy trying to scent him. And then his even more vehement rejection when Percy had asked the name for the area between Jason’s legs. But it _had_ looked like Jason's genitals had been somewhat swollen...

Frustrated, Percy reached down and adjusted himself in his loincloth.

He stopped short, realizing he’d lost Jason’s tracks during his daydreaming about Jason’s body and his cheeks and his _eyes-_

Percy shook his head, mad at himself, he was _not_ about to fall in that trap again. He’d barely slept at all last night thinking about Jason’s earnest, trusting eyes.

He backtracked a bit until he found the spot where Jason had obviously climbed out of the river. Looking across at the steeper bank on the other side, Percy immediately saw where Jason must have jumped in. Or maybe fallen in at full speed, if all those broken branches were anything to go by.

Percy returned to the line of trees and climbed up, finding a vine that could take him across. When he got to the other side, his suspicions were confirmed. It looked like Jason had been barreling through the forest at full speed. As Percy retraced his steps deeper into the forest, he realized Jason must have been panicked and very possibly trying to escape something. He forced himself to focus on his surroundings for any signs of danger instead of further reviewing yesterday’s events.

He traveled quickly, and it wasn’t long before he arrived at a cliff with two travel bags at the foot of the rising wall. It was obvious that the poor man had come tumbling down the unforgiving rock face. He looked around for any sign of whatever had spooked Jason, and seeing nothing, he dropped down and started carefully examining the contents of the bags.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Thalia refused to let Jason out of her sight.

She even went with him whenever he went to relieve himself. Luckily, she didn’t insist on _watching_ him then, but it was rather embarrassing nonetheless to be trusted so little. He couldn’t blame her, though, knowing she’d been scared out of her mind when they hadn’t been able to find him. When they'd gone to bed (and shared her sleeping bag since he’d lost his own) she'd held him so tight, he'd thought the guilt would eat him alive. He hadn't heard her crying, but he'd been certain that the wetness on his back had been tears. Even in her sleep, it took a long while for her arms to loosen around his waist.

They spent the morning pushing hard to try to make up for the lost time of the previous day. Jason could feel that Thalia and Reyna wanted to ask him more about Percy, so he was glad the punishing pace kept them from voicing their questions. He’d already told the group everything that was strictly necessary about Percy when he'd come back last night- the way he hadn’t spoken English, the way he'd taken care of Jason’s injuries and fed him, and the way he’d led Jason straight to their camp. Charon had seemed to be very interested in this information, and very impressed to hear how fast Percy could learn English. Jason had wanted to ask if Charon maybe knew something about Percy, but it was then that Octavian had started speaking loudly and pompously about how Jason must have hit his head a lot harder than he'd realized, and that the man was obviously some sort of native African villager that must have had limited exposure to English before, and Charon had seemed to visibly close off to the conversation. Jason had to insist that Percy had been white, but Octavian hadn't really cared too much, more interested in dressing Jason down for costing them a day’s traveling to his site.

The women, however, had seemed to sense that Jason had a _lot_ more to spill than he was volunteering. Every chance they got, they'd asked about details of the encounter, and Jason had answered as vaguely as he could, though he knew his blushing was probably only adding to their curiosity. The fact that William and Nico, who had been full of fascinated questions when he'd returned, were trying to eavesdrop every time he saw them didn't help.

The most trying question of all had come from Reyna during breakfast. _“So, did he say anything when he left you? I doubt ape-men shake hands as farewell.”_

Percy had thought he was going to melt through the log he was sitting on he was so flustered by the question. He’d stammered out a response about how Percy had managed to string together well wishes, but both Thalia and Reyna had stared at him like he had grown a second head. At his numb _“What?”_ they’d only shook their heads with matching looks of disbelief and muttered _“Nothing.”_

So now he could feel their eyes boring into both of his temples, like they were hoping to stare holes through his skull and into the inner workings of his mind.

“I’m fine, you two. I’m not going to disappear again.”

He started walking faster and they struggled to match his long strides.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason couldn’t keep his mind from wandering, thinking about the kiss.

First of all, there were the ethics of the kiss. He’d totally kissed a man who had no idea of the implications of the gesture. Jason would even go so far as to say that he took advantage of the man’s ignorance on the subject to live out a fantasy that no one in his regular life would ever have to know about. That _was_  part of Percy’s allure, after all. He was entirely separate from Jason’s life back in the States, and kissing him would not have any repercussions for his social life.

Secondly, there was the dissatisfaction of the kiss. He’d finally gotten a taste of fantasy, and that was _it_. The _end_. After this, he’d go back to his lonely apartment in Bethesda, his job in Reyna’s office, his desperate concealment of his sexuality, and the kiss would fade from memory. Each year, Percy’s lips will get a little less warm, a little less soft, until the memory that that remains is just as fabricated as the daydreams he’d had before he came on this trip. Jason Grace would die as the man who’d only ever mustered up the courage for one small kiss.

Lastly, but most importantly, there was the actual memory of the kiss to pore over. Not just the kiss, but the nuzzling that had led up to it and all the touches throughout the day. Jason’s breath caught in his lungs, his heart beating wildly in his chest like it was struggling to break free as he thought about Percy’s smooth skin. His long lashes blinking against the bridge of Jason’s nose. The light scrape of Percy’s nails against Jason’s lower abdomen as he fiddled with the belt buckle. The way his thumb had lingered on Jason’s lower lip, tugging it down gently into a pout. Jason could see and feel all of these memories distill into one single scene, a thrilling vision, a hot delirium of heavier touches and fewer clothes. Jason found himself desperately trying to ban the thoughts from his head before it became obvious what he was thinking about, but they kept coming back, stronger and more tempting each time.

Which was part of why Thalia’s insistence on following him when he went to empty his bladder during their midday halt was so frustrating. He’d been entertaining the idea of relieving himself in more ways than one, but… No go. Thalia refused to back down on the subject. She refused again when they stopped for the night and he’d tried to sneak away at dinner.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

That was how he ended up being wide awake in the middle of the night, eternally grateful that Thalia had insisted on being the _big_ spoon for the second night in a row.

He listened to the snores of the campers and watched the glowing logs of their fire for a long time before he mustered the courage to gently unclasp Thalia’s arms from around him and worm out of the sleeping bag.

He looked around. No one had any reaction. Nor was anyone even facing in his direction. He put his boots and shirt on with as much speed as he could without sacrificing stealth. Carefully, watching out for any branches that might snap underfoot, Jason made his way to the edge of the clearing, and snuck out of the light of the campfire. Once past the first few trees and confident that no one would see him, he turned his attention on trying not to run into any danger.

He didn’t dare stray _too_ far away- as soon as he saw that the light behind him was starting to disappear, he backtracked. He looked around and found a smooth looking tree he could lean up against. He pressed his hands to it, squinting in the darkness as he checked for any spiders or snakes that might be a problem. Seeing nothing of the sort, he turned around and pressed his back to it, swallowing anxiously.

Now that he was here, he threw caution to the wind, desperately palming his cock through his pants. He bit his lip and let his eyes flutter shut as the first sighs tumbled from his mouth.

Finally- _finally-_ he let his mind wander, thinking about Percy’s musculature. His mind easily slipped him the imagined sensation of running his hands over the man’s body- his firm pecs, rock solid arms and shoulders, his perfect butt. Jason slipped a hand into his trousers and whimpered a little at the feeling, imagining Percy’s large but graceful hand touching him. His calloused fingers would run up Jason’s shaking thigh, a gentle thumb would stroke Jason’s hipbone, and nails would dig into his skin as strong fingers kneaded his ass. He wondered if Percy would stroke his cock with confidence or in the same cautious, exploratory way he’d examined Jason’s glasses. Jason liked to think that he’d start off with the latter and move more to the former. Either way, Jason tightened his fist around himself.

He pushed his pants down further, until they slid off the swell of his ass. The refreshingly cool night air, hit his newly exposed bare skin and Jason was suddenly aware of his tight asshole being revealed. His muscles contracted as he imagined Percy slipping a finger around to curiously massage at the rim there, exploring Jason in a place that Percy had never touched another human being before. Would Percy think that sort of thing weird? Would he pull away, deciding he wasn’t interested, or would he see how it made Jason squirm and mewl and keep going?

Unable to restrain himself, so taken with the powerful fantasy, Jason let his own finger travel back to his butt, carefully slipping between the cheeks, and poking cautiously at the hole. He’d never had the courage to do this before, but something in his veins, his _whole nervous system_ , was screaming that this was exactly what he needed tonight. He pushed his finger around in circular motions, exploring the wrinkled texture of his rim. They'd fit together so well. Jason indulged the knowledge that despite his lack of experience that might suggest the opposite, he _was_ attractive. He was fit and tall, and maybe in another lifetime where he wasn't gay or shy, he would be very happily married by now. His finger pressed tighter into the tight folds of his rim as he imagined Percy desiring him.

“Jason.”

Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. Nearly screamed. Nearly broke out in tears. His eyes snapped open and looked towards the speaker.

A sliver of campfire light catching on his face, Percy stood between the trees directly in front of him.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason couldn’t speak. His tongue felt swollen and useless in his mouth. He stood blinking at Percy, too shocked to even move his hands away from his genitals.

Percy, meanwhile, aside from looking slightly abashed at having caught Jason in a private moment, didn’t really look like he was planning on turning away or even averting his gaze. His eyes traveled freely between Jason’s face and his swollen dick. Making one of his strange ape noises, Percy coughed, and then lifted a canvas bag. Jason stared at it dumbly.

“Name?”

Jason wasn’t sure whether to break out into tears or just start laughing, loudly, miserably, and hysterically.

“B-bag?”

“Jason bag?” and Percy held it out like he was offering it.

Jason nodded, and forced out a choked, “Yes,” as his hands finally got with the program and abandoned their previous posts to timidly cover his dick for some sense of modesty.

Percy only glanced down at the action briefly before carefully placing the bag on the ground between them and holding up a second one.

“Jason bag too?”

“Y-yes!” Jason said breathlessly, as this one was definitely the bag he carried his art supplies in. It finally hit Jason what Percy was doing here- the man must have retrieved his belongings. “Thank you, Percy.”

Percy nodded, looking thoughtful and looking down at Jason’s crotch again. He pointed a finger hesitantly, and took a moment to recall the words to express himself.

“Percy help Jason?”

Jason felt the blood drain out of his face. Help? How could Percy _help?_ Did he _not_ understand what was happening? Was that why he didn’t seem particularly bothered about having caught Jason in such a compromising position? He shook his head.

“I’m not _hurt_. No.”

Percy gave him a weird look. Not like he didn’t understand what Jason meant, but like Jason had said something completely ridiculous. Blowing an irritated puff of air, he motioned again.

“Percy… _sex_ Jason.”

Jason’s jaw dropped.

Percy made a rapid jerking motion to illustrate his point. Then he dropped his hand, his eyes searching Jason’s face.

“No?” was Percy’s cautious guess.

Blood roared in Jason’s ears. His eyes traveled between Percy’s face and his hand, strong fingers flexing open and closed as he waited for Jason’s answer. He tried to croak out a reply, but he wasn’t sure which one.

Percy took a step closer, and Jason snapped into eye contact, startled and confused. Percy eyed him warily, then came forward. Slowly, like he was afraid Jason would run, he raised his hand and reached for Jason.

The fingertip of his middle finger touched Jason’s shoulder. Percy ran it gently across, tracing Jason’s collarbone, all of his weight on one foot, like he was ready to lean back out of reach at the first sign of retaliation. When Jason only gulped and kept watching Percy’s eyes, Percy allowed himself the liberty of stroking down Jason’s sternum. Jason shut his eyes as his breath shuddered out of him. Emboldened by Jason holding still, Percy let the pads of all four fingers press against Jason’s shivering flesh and trailed them down Jason’s stomach.

Jason could feel as the other man stepped closer, braced a hand against the tree trunk next to his head. Percy’s body heat cut through the night cool and washed over him. Jason whined and bit his lip when Percy’s fingers reached where Jason’s hands were and brushed delicately over the sensitive skin where thumb became forearm. He let his eyelids flutter open. Percy was studying him with both fascination and apprehension. Jason shrunk under the gaze, his shoulders hunching up and his hands drawing back from what they were protecting. Percy grinned, slowly and beautifully.

“ _Jason_...”

His fingers no longer hesitant, Percy wrapped his fingers around Jason’s shaft and gave a few easy tugs. Jason nearly crawled out of his skin, his eyes going wide, feeling the moment shatter with how casual Percy was being. His hands reached out to Percy’s shoulders, not even registering the pleasure, to push Percy away. He had his fingers wrapped around Percy’s biceps, and the next moment, Percy’s attention was on his face again as the man picked up on something being wrong. His hand slowed and then stopped altogether.

“What?”

Jason didn’t even bother being surprised that Percy knew which word to use. Instead, his thoughts were drawn, finally, to the fact that Percy’s hand did, in fact, feel incredibly welcome on his flushed cock. His thoughts fragmented at the realization. He forgot why he wanted to push Percy away. Fingers tightened around Percy’s arms. Eyes traveled over his tense chest. He made eye contact again. Broke it. Reconnected. Percy started to move his hand away.

“ _Slow!_ ”

Percy froze and tilted his head.

“What?”

“Slower-” he blurted out again as his right hand reached down and clumsily wrapped around Percy’s.

He guided Percy’s hand slower across his shaft.

“Tighter-”

He squeezed his fist around Percy’s, sighing and letting his head roll back to hit bark. Percy squeezed in earnest and Jason’s breath hitched. He moaned, his chest squeezing tight like it had all day from loneliness and heartbreak, except something else was breaking inside Jason now, and he surged off the tree trunk as his back arched and flexed under Percy’s ministrations. Jason had to force his eyes open, unable to recall when he had closed them.

He tightened the grip he had on Percy’s shoulder as his hips thrust up in desperate rolling motions. Gasping out when Percy’s thumb slipped over his slit, he jerked his right hand from around Percy’s fist and pushed it into the hair at Percy’s nape, holding tight.

“Please…”

Percy gave him a confused look, but Jason didn’t know how to answer, locking his jaw in place as he tried not to moan too loudly. He pulled Percy in closer until the man stumbled. Jason pressed their lips together in what he’d meant to be a kiss, but ended up being more him panting harshly into Percy’s open mouth. Percy seemed to like the idea and pushed Jason firmly against the tree, rubbing his nose up against Jason’s, speeding up his fist around Jason’s shaft.

“Slow?”

“ _No_.”

Moving his hands to cradle Percy’s jaw, lightly stroking his neck and ears with his fingertips, Jason tried again for kissing. He nipped at Percy’s lips, hoping he was doing something right, wanting to get Percy to reciprocate, wanting to memorize the feel and shape of Percy’s lips.

Percy growled and pushed harder up against Jason, pressing him almost painfully into the tree bark behind him. Jason moaned and only pressed closer to Percy, loving the feel of the hot, hard body against him. He wished he’d had the forethought to unbutton his shirt so they could be skin to skin, but he couldn’t bear the thought of tearing his hands away from Percy- not now- not when he needed so badly to feel grounded.

His fingers tightened almost involuntarily around the hinge of Percy’s jaw and he gasped. He only just managed to snap his eyes open to look up into Percy’s dark irises when it hit him.

“ _Percy-_ ”

Orgasm tore through him violently. He was vaguely aware of snapping his head forward against Percy’s chin and then back against the tree. He stared at the dark tangle of the canopy above as he released rope after rope of come over Percy’s hand. He sobbed once as one last electrifying spasm ripped through him and made his hips shake.

When he could focus his eyes again, he reached a hand down to stop Percy’s lazy stroking, and picked up his heavy head to look at the other man.

Percy was grinning.

Jason couldn’t help but huff a laugh and offer a small smile in return, already fighting off sleepiness. He leaned in and kissed Percy again- a slow, shallow pull of Percy’s bottom lip between his own. Percy’s grin turned lazier, content. He blinked slowly down at Jason and bumped noses.

Percy stepped away from Jason, pulling his come-covered fist from Jason’s cock, and his other hand from where it had been gripping Jason’s hip. He walked a few paces away and ripped leaves off a bush, using them to wipe his hand clean of the sticky mess. Jason pulled up his pants, feeling a little guilty. No way was that actually going to remove all of it. Percy would have to go find somewhere to wash his hand.

Straightening up, Percy walked back over to Jason, who was, quite frankly, feeling a little unsteady on his feet. Jason grinned like an idiot at him, knowing he was doing it, but being entirely incapable of stopping his mouth from twisting into that shape. Luckily, Percy only returned it, bumping noses again and settling his hands on Jason’s hips to rub small circles with his thumbs right below Jason’s hipbones jutted out the most and the skin was more sensitive than Jason had ever realized.

Jason moaned and his left knee half gave out under him, causing his body to jerk downwards unexpectedly. With a sharp inhale, Percy had him gripped tightly by the waist. Jason straightened.

“I’m fine. Sorry.” He was also falling asleep on his feet

Percy smiled. Jason couldn’t restrain himself and kissed the man again. When he pulled away, Percy chased him with a kiss of his own, obviously catching on that Jason liked the action. They giggled into each other’s mouths. Jason distantly realized that he hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from Percy’s for a few minutes now.

Percy let go of his waist, and pulled away a little to look down. Jason looked down too.

His scalp slid back on his skull in uneasiness.

Percy was untying the loincloth.

“Oh…”

Percy glanced up, not pausing in his task, and flashed his teeth in a wide smile. Jason could see from the glow of the distant firelight that Percy’s eyes were excited. What’s more, he’d noticed when he’d looked down that the loincloth was suddenly looking a _lot_ tighter than normal. Jason looked around, as if hoping that a way out would be carved into the trunk of a nearby tree. Trying not to panic, he looked back to his companion when Percy let out a small cry of success.

Percy kissed him, and stood back, lightly boxing Jason in with his arms casually braced against the tree on either side of Jason’s head.

Jason stared back into Percy’s eyes, completely mortified.

Percy’s smile slowly slid off his face to be replaced with a look of concern. He looked down at himself, then back up at Jason. Letting his hands drop from the tree trunk, Percy gave Jason a hurt look.

“No?”

Jason struggled for words, his lips moving aimlessly.

Percy suddenly looked a lot smaller than he normally did. His shoulders dropped and he looked _embarrassed_.

“ _Wait, I_ … I just wasn't expecting this, and...”

Percy’s head tilted a little in confusion.

“Jason…” whispered Percy, hurt still scrunching up his eyes.

Thoroughly ashamed of his own behavior, Jason reached forward with his left hand and grabbed Percy’s dick, feeling the heft of a semi-hard penis that wasn’t his own for the first time. How long had he wanted to touch someone? What was he doing, being all reticent now? Where was the mortification even coming from? And yet, the feeling lingered, even as his fingertips rubbed into the delicate skin stretched over Percy's dick and his breathing quickened once more.

He forced himself to look into Percy’s eyes.

“Sorry, I…” He broke eye contact. “You can’t _see_ , but I’m blushing,” he offered as an explanation and gave a few experimental tugs. Then he finally met Percy’s eyes again. “Jason _blush_.”

Something cleared in Percy’s eyes. Jason wasn’t sure if it was understanding or forgiveness, but he was happy to see that the man didn’t look so insulted and rebuffed anymore. He hadn’t meant to _do_ that. He hadn’t really thought about reciprocation when Percy had first approached him. If Percy could understand English, Jason would have explained to the man that his rejection was based entirely on his own knee-jerk shyness and wasn’t a permanent _“No.”_ But obviously the man had thought Jason was rejecting him outright, unsatisfied with Percy’s attempts at courting. There was no way Jason could leave that hanging as is. Could with one stone hurt Percy like that and ruin his own chances of touching the man ever again.

Jason reached out a shaking hand to Percy's hip, and pushed off from the tree to pull himself closer to the man. Percy made a low rumble of approval as Jason slid his hand around him to sink his fingers possessively into the small of Percy's back.

Jason finally wrapped his whole fist around Percy and squeezed tighter. Percy sighed.

“ _Not_ slower, Jason…”

“Faster. Not slower name _faster_.”

Percy blinked his half-mast eyelids wide open and smiled at Jason.

“ _Faster_.”

Jason rewarded him, pulling his wrist in a sharper motion, watching Percy’s throat work as he swallowed in between pants. Unable to help himself, Jason looked down so he could explore some. The foreskin had retracted off the head, pushing only slightly back over the ridge with every flick of Jason's wrist. The silky head was showing, noticeably shiny even in the limited light, and leaking precome down Jason’s fist and against Percy’s stomach. Jason, shuddered, suddenly fascinated at having such an opportunity to play with someone _else's_ desires and needs. He thumbed Percy’s slit and Percy rolled his hips with a loud groan. Jason looked up and found that Percy was watching him, his eyes flicking between Jason’s face and his hand with interest.

Percy gave Jason a reassuring smile and a nod. Jason didn’t remember when Percy’s hands had settled over his ribcage, gently holding him like he was trying to support and encourage him. Suddenly, Jason didn’t feel like he was the one in control. Desperate to regain that feeling from just moments ago, he looked back down and tried to make this as deliberately pleasurable for Percy as he could manage, pushing down on the underside of the cock with his thumb as firmly as he could. Percy moaned a sigh quietly and Jason could _feel_ his smile, pressed up as it was against Jason’s ear.

He stroked faster and felt Percy’s hips unhinge in his hand, snapping up harder into his fingers. The lewd noise of his precome-lubed hand shlicking fast across Percy’s engorged, straining cock seemed so loud in the relative hush of night that Jason was amazed no one had woken up and come to investigate yet.

Percy yanked Jason's head back by his hair and, before Jason could cry out in pain, pressed their faces together, letting out a high-pitched whine into Jason’s open mouth.

Jason felt hot come spill over his fingers. He closed his eyes and prayed none of it would end up on his clothes as Percy shuddered against him, whimpering softly.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

As it turned out, some _did_ get on his clothes.

As soon as Percy returned to full awareness, he kissed and nuzzled Jason almost senseless. They were shallow kisses, as Jason was not about to try using tongue with someone who knew less about the concept than he did, but they certainly did the trick. Jason wasn’t even sure if tongues were necessary and wondered why people bothered.

Finally, Jason pulled his hand away from where it was still loosely fisted around Percy. He looked down and groaned in dismay, seeing that not only was his hand covered in slick and come, there were a few dribbles of milky liquid on his shirt too. Percy jumped to action with a quick, “Sorry, Jason.”

He tore off some more leaves from a bush and came back to wipe the sticky stuff carefully from Jason’s palm and fingers and the skin right in between each finger. As he was finishing up, Jason realized that Percy’s leaves wouldn’t cut it for the mess on his shirt- they would probably only smear the stuff around. So he licked his thumb and tried to wipe it away, with mild success. He stared at his now sticky thumb- he hadn’t really thought this through.

Curiosity winning out over embarrassment, Jason lifted his thumb to his mouth. Just as he was about to lick at the come, he realized Percy had stopped was he was doing. He looked up. Percy was watching his actions intently, eyes flicking between Jason’s thumb and his tongue. Jason stood frozen until Percy made eye contact. He wrestled with himself for a moment, before deciding to just do it. So _what_ if Percy was watching? He lapped at the come.

Percy’s was a lot sweeter than his own. Less bitter. The same overall _quality_ to the taste, just… _different_.

He looked up from his thumb. Percy was still watching him. Then Percy leaned in and nuzzled him briefly, making a soft sound in his throat like a brief purr. Jason went back to cleaning off his shirt with his thumb when Percy pulled away and picked his loincloth up from the ground, busying himself with wrapping it back around himself. Jason watched him when he finished with his cleaning.

Percy didn’t even look up at him when he was done, just went over to grab Jason’s heavy canvas bag and started carrying it towards the camp. Jason hurried to grab his art supplies and catch up to Percy.

At the edge of the clearing, Percy cautiously peered at the camp, taking in all the sleeping explorers. He set the bag down and turned to Jason.

“Kiss?” he whispered.

Jason leaned in, hands bracing against Percy’s warm chest, and kissed him gently.

“So you take care.”

Jason smiled, knowing why Percy said that. He yawned, finally feeling sleepiness seep through his limbs, then shook his head.

“Good night, Percy.”

“Good night, Jason?”

Jason nodded and Percy kissed him.

Then he pulled away, turned around, and walked off, leaving Jason slightly wobbly and completely satisfied.


	4. Reveal of the Ape Man

Percy spent the morning dozing up in a tree, his limbs still loose and lazy from the night before. He smiled now and then as a ray of sunshine managed to find a path through the leaves to catch his face and bathe it in warmth, reminding him of Jason’s gentle touches.

Oh, Jason’s touches were _divine_.

Percy had never really had any expectations for what it would feel like to have another man touch his cock. He’d assumed it would be a fun experience, or else his troop wouldn’t have been so obsessed with touching each other all the time. Percy didn’t really expect it to be anything more pleasurable than when he did it himself, however.

It _was_ , though.

Just the knowledge that someone wanted to do it for him was enough to send pleasurable sensations running down his spine.

When he was young, he’d tried to touch one of the female gorillas in his troop. All his brothers were engaging in mating behaviors, so he'd thought he’d try it too. But he'd quickly learned that not only was the female not entirely enthusiastic about him touching her, she was absolutely disgusted by the idea of touching _him_. Thinking that she just didn’t find him a good enough suitor, he’d tried with another female, and another, until all of them had rejected him and were so offended that he’d even _tried_ to woo them that they nearly drove him out of the troop. He’d been lucky that Kerchak had stood up for him, as was his duty as the silverback.

It had weighed on him for years, that rejection, that final confirmation that he didn’t belong. For a long time after, the females would refuse to engage in sexual play when Percy was even _around_ , not wanting his eyes on them. Percy hadn't particularly minded that he couldn’t _touch_ them- he hadn't really wanted to, anyway, he’d only tried because that’s what his brothers had been doing. His disinterest in them, however, had done nothing to soothe the sting of rejection.

It was a couple years after that, while half his troop was still in the practice of scowling at him for his “mistake,” and he’d taken to exploring far from troop territory, that he’d run into the blackback troop in the east. Initially wary of him for being a man, they had welcomed him when they realized he could communicate with them easily. He’d spent a good long while living with that troop, enjoying the camaraderie of an all-male group. It was from them that Percy learned that males could play with each other too, and they were all a lot less likely to reject one another than a female might. He hadn't dared approach anyone, however, as he'd still felt like a newcomer and an outsider in the troop. He'd watched, though, and the blackbacks hadn't minded.

He had been happy there.

Then a new male had arrived, likely on an exodus from his mother’s troop and in search of a new life. The troop had welcomed him easily, with open arms, just like they had Percy after they’d realized he was one of them. But unlike with Percy, the troop had wasted no time in approaching the new member with sexual advances. Soon enough, the new gorilla was happily sidling up to troop members himself and initiating play. That was when Percy had realized that he didn’t belong there either.

But _Jason_ …

He’d been really afraid when Jason had initially looked like he wasn’t going to return the favor. It had felt like someone had shoved him into a cold cavern pool when he saw Jason try to back away from him, obviously uncomfortable. It had been like all the happiness of being allowed to touch Jason had turned to poison in his gut, making him nauseous and on the verge of vomiting in shame and misery.

He thought about how sweetly Jason had admitted to blushing and it made him melt on the inside. He still wasn’t exactly sure what Jason had meant when he’d tried to explain his behavior, but Jason’s actions were all that mattered.

Percy bit his lip and giddily squinted at the illuminated canopy.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason was having a rough morning. It’s not that anything in particular was terrible. It was, rather, the opposite. Everything was wonderful and colorful and fragrant, and he wanted to stretch out in his newly retrieved sleeping bag and doze for a few more hours, dreams alight with pleasure and contentment.

Instead, he’d had an early morning full of interrogation. When had the Ape Man been here? Why did he bring back Jason’s bags? How did he find the bags? How was it that no one else had woken up to witness this Ape Man?

Octavian had looked cross with his, _“I don’t know”_ s.

Once that was over, Jason had thought he’d be home-free, but sitting through breakfast trying to keep a straight face turned out to be even more trying.

“You’re glowing,” Reyna deadpanned.

Next to her, Thalia snapped shut her mouth like she’d been about to say the exact same thing.

“I’m… what?”

“ _Glowing_ ,” Reyna enunciated with force, like his good vibe was harshing her buzz. Behind her, Nico was watching him intently from where he was eating his breakfast with William.

Jason sighed around a spoonful of oatmeal.

“Wouldn’t you be, if something really important was returned to you by a kind stranger?”

“Was it that much of a hardship to share a sleeping bag with me?” ribbed his sister.

Jason could return an unimpressed look as good as he got.

“I _meant,_ " he forced through clenched teeth, "my _drawing supplies_.”

That seemed to do the trick and the women straightened and shook themselves a little in comprehension. They didn’t bother him too much anymore, content with his answer.

Unfortunately, the next people in line to question him were William, who showed up to help Jason apply more antiseptic cream and re-bandage his arms, and Nico, who sat nearby, watching Jason with his deep dark eyes with an inscrutable expression.

"He must be quite a sight, your Ape Man," William said with a smile and shared a look with Nico.

Jason's heart almost stopped. "Why do you say that?"

"Running through the forest all day, probably fighting lions and crocodiles with his bare hands? In nothing but a loincloth? All sweaty and muscular and mostly naked? Quite a sight."

Jason just barely kept his face in a steadily neutral expression. "Uh, yeah. I guess he didn't look like anyone you'd see back in Maryland."

He wasn't sure what to make of William's borderline lascivious comment, but he went back to his bags promising himself very carefully to not think too much about Percy's aforementioned muscles and sweat.

Reyna and Thalia started up their friendly bickering again as they packed their supplies. It seemed the women mirrored and teased each other more and more every day. Jason thought he would be very happy to see Reyna remain close friends with his sister after they came home. She’d only ever hint at it, but he was certain that Reyna was starved for interaction with other women, working as she did with only male colleagues. Not that Thalia was particularly feminine, but she seemed exactly woman enough for Reyna to be grateful for her presence.

He spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon pleasantly daydreaming about Percy.

He very pointedly did _not_ have any freak-outs about how last night had been the first time he’d ever touched a man, or been touched by one, or gone further into the territory of sexual exploration than he had ever hoped to, because that line of thinking, which would probably involve a lot of hyperventilating, would be impossible to hide from the group.

He spent his afternoon uncomfortable because Octavian decided to use that time to torment him.

“So your Ape Man must not have been wearing a lot of clothing, I’m guessing-”

Why did everyone had to bring up those mental images for him?

“Not really-”

“Did he pose for you, then?”

“No-”

“Bet you loved that, didn’t you, slut? Did you watch him and imagine yourself being in such revealing garments, having men stare at you like a piece of meat?”

It went on like that for a while, with all manner of abuse, accusations, and advances spilling from Octavian’s mouth.

Jason tuned him out after a while, refusing to reply, focusing his energies instead on imagining that Percy would visit him again in the middle of the night. 

Frustrated that he was no longer getting a rise out of Jason, Octavian's hands started to wander. Jason gave him a heavy shoulder check, nostrils flaring.

"You don't have anyone fooled, Jason," Octavian said. "Your-"

"Octavian."

The man spun to look behind them, pleasant smile already sliding across his lips. It was Nico, and a short pace behind him, William, walking quickly to catch up.

"I was wondering if you'd given any thought to what this may mean," Nico continued. "Jason's Ape Man, that is. Anthropologically speaking."

Nico drew level with them and brusquely squeezed in between Jason and Octavian, seemingly completely oblivious to Octavian trying to stay close to Jason.

"Because I was thinking that it might actually be very interesting to record Jason's account of his adventures."

Nico kept talking. Something brushed Jason's sleeve, and he looked to his other side.

William walked next to him, beaming.

He gave Jason a wink.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

As the day drew to a close, Jason’s anxiety from the day before set in once more. He kept telling himself that it was ridiculous to think things like that- not too long ago he’d thought he’d never feel the touch of another human being. He should be comforted and encouraged by being proved wrong.

Instead, his mind laser-focused on the belief that if not that first kiss, then last night was definitely and _irrefutably_ his last romantic encounter that he would ever have. With a strange sense of paranoia settling in, Jason reviewed and re-reviewed the sensations from last night, terrified that he hadn’t appreciated them enough at the time. His fear had him convinced that because he’d spent all day trying _not_ to think about the feeling of Percy’s index finger gently hooking the ridge of his cockhead as he stroked Jason all slow and purposeful, that he’d forget the details, forget each and every delightful moment. Jason wasn’t _really_ about to cry, but his eyes felt misty and he almost wanted to, just to mourn what could very well be the last beautiful thing to ever happen to him.

He realized he was being melodramatic. _Of course_ he realized that. He was in a gorgeous part of the world- the opportunity of a lifetime- he'd just had his first sexual encounter, and here he was, angsting.

He was about to help Thalia with dinner- it was their turn to cook today- when a ruckus stirred up south of their camp. The campers only had time to turn toward the noise when a group of gorillas came swinging out of the trees

The animals were hooting and hollering up in the branches and the campers all pulled back from the trees in fear.

Charon was whisper yelling for everyone to stay calm and silent, but the whole lot kept yelling at the “ugly beasts” to “get back, or else.”

Guns were being pulled from their holsters and pointed with shaking hands up into the branches.

Jason watched in horror at the defensive response that was quickly plummeting towards violence. By then, the gorillas had gone quiet already, and were simply watching the men curiously. Octavian’s voice broke out above the rest.

“I swear to God, if any of you little monsters-”

“ _Quiet!_ ”

Octavian looked back at Jason in surprise. So did most of the other campers, but Jason barely noticed as the flash of bronze that he thought he'd seen in the branches revealed itself to be human skin. He grinned, both in excitement and relief.

“Percy.”

All heads, including those of the gorillas, swiveled towards the newcomer. Percy stood on a low branch, mostly naked, all glistening olive skin, doing a sinfully lithe elbow-lean against the tree trunk. He smiled back, big and bright.

“Jason.”

There was some muttering. Charon sat down hard onto his travel pack, staring up at where Percy was perched. He shook his head and spoke numbly.

“It’s true. The Ape Man is true.”

The gorillas, by then, were getting restless, and some of them slipped off to either side of the camp. The campers watched quietly as, after a quick hooted conversation with Percy, the rest of the gorilla troop turned to either side of the clearing and continued on their travels until the only uninvited guest left was Percy.

Jason walked over to the tree Percy was balancing up on.

“What was that?”

Percy dropped down easily. He gave Jason’s travelers a wary look, particularly the ones that had guns. Then he swung his attention back to Jason, tapped him on the back of the neck, and started walking away. Jason caught himself almost following him without hesitation. He stopped and turned around.

“I think you make him nervous, especially with the weapons. I’ll go talk to him- I don’t think I’ll be gone long.”

He spun around and jogged after Percy. He thought he heard his sister call out his name, but he was more interested in talking to Percy at the moment than assuring her of his safety.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason watched Percy repeat the complicated hand motions that he was trying to use as an explanation.

“So the _gorillas_ are your _family_.”

Percy shrugged like, “Fine, yeah, sure- if you say so.”

“...and you were going for a fun walk.”

Percy smiled and huffed a small frustrated breath. He mimicked walking.

“Is walk.” Then he pointed up, motioning from tree to tree. “Is called?”

“Umm… Oh- swing.” And then, just to be clear, he motioned climbing, “ _Climb-_ ” and then mimicked swinging the way he saw the gorillas and Percy travel, “ _Swing_.”

Percy nodded, happy with the new vocabulary. Then he, not at all subtly, pushed into Jason’s space. Jason stepped back and looked towards camp, checking to see that no one had followed. Percy followed his gaze, and stopped to listen too, obviously picking up on Jason’s concerns. Hearing nothing, he pulled Jason to him again, determined to carry out whatever he had in mind. He kissed Jason, and then went to poke around at his crotch.

“What?”

“Is called? Take off pants.”

Jason pushed his hands away lightly.

“One- not ‘is called?’ It’s ‘what is this called?’”

Percy nodded but grabbed at Jason’s pants again.

“Take off pants.”

“And two- _no_.” He glanced towards camp again. “Someone might see, and I’m not ready to deal-”

“Jason, what is it called?”

Percy’s voice was solid and compelling, and Jason had no choice but to make eye contact. Percy was watching him patiently, but with a certain amount of annoyance and amusement, like you might look at a stubborn cat or petulant child. Thrown by the gaze, Jason couldn’t help but feel that he had very little power in his relationship with Percy. He might be from civilized America, and Percy might be an Ape Man, but Percy obviously thought most of Jason’s concerns were foolish, and only tolerated them because they were endearing.

Life must be so simple for Percy. Surrounded by only animals, he could do what he wanted whenever he wanted and never had to worry about being judged or ostracized.

He let his shoulders sink and decided to let things be simple.

“Crotch.” He gestured his finger around the area. “It’s my crotch.”

Percy didn’t reply and only busied himself with unfastening Jason’s belt. Jason had to help him with the pants button and zipper. Once he had both Jason’s pants and underwear pushed down around his thighs, Percy reached for Jason’s cock. Jason flushed at the feeling, and as much as he tried not to, since he had to go back to camp soon, he couldn’t help the arousal that shot through his chest. He didn't push Percy away, though. It only made sense that the man wanted to define some of the things they had done last night so they could communicate about them.

“Crotch?”

“No, that’s my penis. Well, cock. Or dick.”

Percy just nodded, already used to Jason listing off multiple options for a single object. His fingers fluttered down to Jason’s testicles.

“Um, those are my _balls_.”

“Percy _what_ Jason balls?”

“' _Jason's_ balls.' And um, touch? You’re touching my balls?” Figuring he had nothing to lose at this point if anyone showed up, he reached toward Percy’s chest and poked his index finger lightly against Percy’s nipple.

“I’m touching your nipple.”

He wondered if Percy could dissect the sentence to learn both the possessive he used and the new vocabulary. At this point, it seemed like there was nothing Percy couldn’t figure out. It was unclear whether the Ape Man was a genius or simply possessed a curiosity so infinite it may as well have been genius. He pressed his finger in small circles around the dusty rose color of Percy’s nipple, watching it perk up a little.

“I’m _rubbing_ your nipple.”

Percy, who had until then been watching Jason’s finger curiously, let out a small moan and pushed his chest forward. He glanced up at Jason briefly with a smile.

“I like…”

“-that. ‘I like that.’”

Percy murmured in response, and as Jason got brave enough to use a firmer touch on Percy’s chest, Percy leaned in for a heavy kiss, his arms wrapping around Jason’s waist to pull his body tight against him. It almost hurt, but Jason didn’t complain.

They spent a few more minutes fooling around, with Jason teaching Percy the difference between “rub” and “stroke” and a little bit of conjugation of the verbs Percy knew so far. He even slipped in the words "slit," "head," and "shaft," when talking about his penis for full disclosure. Percy asked him for "bellybutton" and tickled him when he got his answer. All too soon, there was the loud sound of a twig snapping nearby, and although it wasn’t one of the campers, Jason was jerked back to reality and reminded that he had to go.

He was already turned away from Percy after having extricated himself from the man’s embrace, and was tucking himself back in as he walked away, when he was grabbed abruptly and pulled back into Percy’s warm, naked chest.

“Percy, I _have to go_.”

“I want to stroke your cock.”

Jason lost all interest in wriggling out of Percy’s hands. He forgot to breathe for a moment, he was so struck by how well Percy had constructed that sentence, whether by accident or skill, how straightforward it was, and how absolutely hot and bothered he felt now. He melted against the strong body at his back as a hand wormed its way into his underwear and grabbed him again. Jason whined, his hips working back and forth against his will at the intimacy of the situation. Percy nuzzled against his neck, and Jason’s whine broke into a moan.

Percy was careful to stroke slowly this time, after last night’s reprimand, but today it didn’t seem like enough.

“Faster, Percy. _Please_.”

Percy obeyed, and Jason’s hips lost all control. He threw his hands back to grasp at Percy’s hair, his neck, his shoulder, wildly bucking and begging, and relishing the feel of Percy’s own hard cock pressing against his backside. He wished they were both naked so he could know what it felt like to have that hot flesh pressing at the most private part of his body. Inspired by the idea, he started rolling his hips purposefully against Percy’s, which earned him a surprised yelp and some stuttered humping. The small smile of satisfaction that spread across his face was quickly chased by a gasp as his orgasm came on suddenly and forcefully.

He moaned loudly as he tried to melt back against Percy until they became one. When his hips finally stopped roiling in ecstasy, he limply got his feet under him and pulled away to face Percy. The man was licking his fingers with a curious and pensive expression, like he was trying to think of what the taste was similar to. His other hand was palming himself through his loincloth. Jason fell upon him partially in affection, partially in exhaustion, and kissed him until he thought his brain might shut down from oxygen deprivation.

Percy was grinning playfully when he pulled away.

“You like that, Jason?”

“ _Yes_.”

Percy leaned in to stroke their noses together in one quick, mischievous motion. Jason reached his hand forward and went to touch Percy, but the other man blocked his attempt. Jason pulled away in surprise. Percy snickered lightly.

“Jason have to go,” he sang, backing away further out of reach.

“Yeah, but-”

Percy skittered past him and made for the camp, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Jason was following.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

He was greeted with questions. Charon wanted to know about where the Ape Man was from and where he lived. His sister and Reyna wanted to know where the Ape Man had taken him and if Jason was alright. All the other travelers wanted to know about what the hell the gorillas had been doing attacking them like that. Octavian stayed oddly quiet.

After he had explained that he _didn’t_ know the details of Percy’s life, that he trusted Percy to take care of him no matter _where_ he took him, and that the gorillas had merely stumbled upon their camp while having a leisurely "walk" through the forest, everyone started asking for details of his conversation with Percy. Which was tricky.

He spent almost a full hour before bed explaining how he taught Percy words and which words Percy knew, just for the sake of no one getting a chance to ask why he had been gone for so long.

As he talked, Reyna beamed at him, on the edge of her seat on a log, drinking up how clever Percy was at learning and Jason was at teaching. Nico took notes, with William looking over his shoulder and muttering suggestions. And Octavian finally broke his silence to ask pointed questions, but directed at the forest canopy rather than at Jason as if he was only musing aloud.

_Had Percy met any humans before?_

_Had his parents abandoned him or died?_

_Could Percy communicate with any animals or just the gorillas?_

_Did he consider himself a part of gorilla culture or separate?_

_Did he perform any elaborate rituals that Jason had been able to observe?_

_How well would Percy hold up to being surrounded by humans? Would it be overwhelming or exciting?_

_Did Jason think it would be possible to successfully introduce Percy into human society back home in Maryland?_

Then things too a darker turn, as some of Octavian's employees picked up on the thought process and posed questions to their boss.

_Would Percy have to be kept in a lab if taken back?_

_Would the government fund research on him?_

_Would it be possible to set up clinical trials to settle some of the most common nature versus nurture questions of this century?_

Jason watched the excitement in the team rise with his heart in his throat. Across the fire from him, Nico had set down his pen and both he and William stared at Jason in shocked silence.

It was Reyna that finally spoke up against the conversation. "There's a big difference between anthropology and what you're all thinking of."

"True," William chimed in. "And it costs nothing to ask Jason questions about Percy, so let's not give ourselves headaches stressing about grants we'll never get."

The crowd had to agree. After some quiet murmuring, the attention shifted back to Jason.

_Can the Ape Man do math?_

Long after the last curious explorer asked his last question and everyone had gone to bed, Jason stayed awake, staring at the forest canopy, illuminated dimly by the campfire.

He kept thinking about how Percy hadn’t let him return the favor today, as if he was dangling something very precious out of Jason’s reach. And Jason loved that. He wasn’t a mind reader, but it seemed to him that if Percy thought that _Jason touching him_ was a treat for _Jason_ , then Percy thought of _touching Jason_ as a privilege for _himself_. And that made him feel pretty damn special. He’d grin and bite his lip and blush every time the thought crossed his mind.

There was a disturbance in the leaves above. Jason held his breath in a moment of anxiety. Then Percy’s head peeked out of the leaves, smiling down at him, and Jason relaxed. He scooted out of his sleeping bag, got dressed, and headed off into the darkness.


	5. Experimentation of the Ape Man

Jason’s hands went straight for Percy’s loincloth as they kissed their, “Hello.”

If absence made the heart grow fonder, then denial surely made the impulse more desperate. He thought of his hesitation last night, and felt a sense of loss at his innocence having been so quickly melted off. But Percy’s hands on his waist, tugging him closer, tighter- his eager grunts into Jason’s mouth- had Jason's heart pounding in exhilaration and he never wanted to go back. He never wanted to think of himself as a virgin ever again. He never again wanted the weight of inhibitions to weigh him down. In this moment, he was desired. He was pleasurable to someone who pleasured him.

The loincloth slid down Percy’s thigh, half tied around one leg, half trapped between their bodies, and he finally had his hand around Percy’s dick. He wanted to explore as he had last night, but more so, he wanted Percy to fall apart against him, and he wanted it now. His motions were rough and fast, only pausing to smear precome around. He wanted Percy to feel the same loss of control that Jason had almost choked on earlier that evening.

He must have been doing something right, because Percy finally pulled away from his lips and whimpered- a wild, desperate look in his eyes.

“Jason, please.”

As he gave a sharp squeeze that had Percy moaning outright, Jason vaguely thought about how he should probably teach Percy the actual meaning of that word, as he was fairly certain that he’d never before used it outside of their sexual encounters.

Percy’s head rolled back, revealing his Adam’s apple, working desperately as Percy swallowed. As Jason lowered them both down to the forest floor and started on taking his shirt off, he swooped in to kiss that lovely bump. Then bite it. His mouth moved lower, tasting the salty sweat that had collected at the junction of Percy’s collarbones. At the first assault on his neck, Percy had jerked back reflexively, trying to bring his chin down to cover the vulnerable spot. But either he was so overcome with pleasure that he abandoned trying to defend himself, or his mind caught up with the situation and rationalized that Jason probably wasn’t trying to kill him, because Percy let his head fall back again under the attention. He fisted both hands in Jason’s hair, trying to grind his skin against Jason’s teeth as they scraped lower.

Jason let him manhandle his head, and only moaned in appreciation of the eagerness. God, it felt good to be wanted by this man. He finally wrestled out of his sleeves and threw his shirt to the side. Then he sucked briefly on a nipple, which drew an almost wounded noise from Percy as he arched his back up. Jason moved lower, wanting more. He licked into Percy’s bellybutton.

“Please!”

Jason stopped his hand on Percy’s cock. Percy whined. “Jason?”

He didn’t dare look up in case he got embarrassed and lost his nerve. He watched as his own hand slowly slipped out from around Percy. A small bead of precome squeezed out of the slit. It swelled in size before it finally broke surface tension and rolled out of sight down the head and onto Percy’s stomach. Percy’s abdomen was heaving as the man panted but otherwise stayed quiet, presumably watching Jason curiously. His hands slipped out of Jason’s hair. His dick twitched and another drop of precome squeezed out. Jason dove after it, leaving a small kitten lick from frenum to slit before jerking away and looking up guiltily. Was this weird to an Ape Man?

Percy was propped up on his elbows, and was staring back at him blankly, looking somewhat shell-shocked. Slowly, like he was worried about doing the wrong thing, he shifted his balance to just one arm and reached down with his hand to put his fingers on the back of Jason’s neck. Slowly, and so gently that Jason could pull away at any moment if he wanted to, he pushed Jason’s head back down to his crotch, spreading his legs around Jason’s face.

Jason didn’t really need more encouragement than that. He lowered a kiss to the flesh of the shaft and sucked hard at it, going up and down the underside as Percy grunted and bucked. He dove down to lick at the skin that wrinkled down from the penis to Percy’s balls. He kissed those delicate folds and drew the skin between his lips just to know what it felt like. He let his lips roam around the smaller hairs growing on the scrotum before falling forward and just burying his nose in the thick hair growing around the base of Percy’s cock. Just as he was inhaling his lover’s scent as deeply as he could, Percy’s hips bucked up violently.

Jason pulled away grimacing and rubbing at his nose. In the same moment, Percy sat up to peer up into his face. He made a series of ape noises, petting Jason’s face. Reading the apology on Percy’s face, Jason kissed him.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

He kissed him again before he remembered what he had been doing moments ago and suddenly froze under Percy’s gaze, embarrassed after all. Percy stared back, his eyes searching Jason’s.

Then he looked down at his own swollen cock, his eyes inquisitive.

“What is it called?”

Jason groaned and looked off to the side. He side-eyed Percy and mumbled his answer before looking away again.

“What?”

Percy was cupping his own ear when Jason looked back. He’d have to teach him things like, “I didn’t hear you,” sometime. He hesitated again.

“Jason blushing again?”

Indignant at getting called out, Jason shot Percy a glare but the man merely grinned back lazily as his hands reached out to draw Jason closer, to massage his skin in an effort to reassure him.

“...it’s called… oral sex. Or…”

He relaxed and let the discomfort ebb, looking around for what he could demonstrate on and finally deciding to aim for Percy’s jaw. He ran his tongue as sensually as he could along the bone up to the joint, breathing hotly against the skin there. Percy shivered.

“That’s called licking. I licked your jaw. And this-” he mumbled as he let his lips travel to where neck met trapezius, “is called sucking.”

He pulled hard at the skin, letting his teeth scrape against it. He held the skin there for a bit, alternating between sucking hard and masticating on it, and just pulling it in gently with his lips wide. Percy moaned and held onto Jason’s sides with trembling hands. When Jason pulled away, he could just barely make out the flushed mark in the dark of the night. He met Percy’s gaze, which was now heavy and loaded with intent.

“Jason sucking my cock?”

Jason shook his head.

“Say- ‘Jason, I want you to suck my cock.’”

Percy spaced out as he processed the phrase for a moment. Jason knew he must have registered the full meaning when his gaze got hungrier and his eyes locked onto Jason’s again, his hand already steadily pushing Jason towards his destination.

“Jason, I want you to suck my cock.”

Jason whimpered as a cold shudder ran down his spine and all four of his limbs. He dropped down between Percy’s legs again, mouth dry, and kissed the underside of the head. Picking it up in his hand, he kissed the tip this time, right on the slit. As he pulled away to look at his prize one last time before throwing all caution to the wind, he slipped his tongue out, tasting the moisture his lips had picked up from the tip.

Carefully, keeping his jaw open as far as it would go so as to keep his teeth away, he lowered his mouth down onto Percy. He felt the radiating heat of the cock pass his lips and up his mouth. Then it came in contact with his tongue, and everything went wrong. Percy’s hips twitched, pushing further into Jason’s mouth. The plush tip hit the back of Jason’s mouth and he gagged. He tried to pull off, but his teeth caught on the ridge of the head. Percy let out a yelp and pushed Jason’s head back and off, until Jason was lying flat on his back with a bewildered and angry Percy straddling him.

Jason put his hands up.

“I’m so sorry!”

Mortified was more like it. Percy bared his teeth and growled.

“Hurt.”

“I know! I’m sorry- I’m so sorry! Percy, please!”

He wasn’t sure how he could apologize in words that Percy already knew, so he opted to sound as whiny and miserable as possible.

Percy twitched at the word “please” as the usage probably confused him. He stared a while longer before he seemed satisfied that Jason looked appropriately wretched in his regret. Then he sat up, eyeing Jason warily.

“It’s fine I’m fine?”

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. He sat up and scooted out from under Percy a little, so the man was hovering over his legs.

“I really am sorry, Percy. I-” he felt his teeth with his thumb, imagining how the sensation, however brief, must have shocked and alarmed Percy.

Percy reached a hand down and felt at Jason’s teeth too, running his fingertips lightly over the ragged line.

“Called?”

“Teeth.”

He grabbed one of Percy’s fingers and mimed biting it.

“Bite. I’m biting your finger.”

Percy nodded, then pulled his hand away.

“No biting.”

“I’m sorry.”

Again, Percy nodded.

“It’s fine I’m fine.”

“You can just say- ‘I’m fine.’ I was being fancy earlier.”

Percy listened, but didn’t signal understanding of the words. He was quick at picking things up, but he wasn’t a mind-reader. Jason didn’t mind. He was pretty sure that it all got stored away somewhere in Percy’s mind for future reference. The same way he’d heard that it was better for babies to hear real speech than baby talk, he didn’t want to limit his words to only things he knew for certain Percy would understand.

Percy kissed him.

“Lick my cock?”

Jason tensed. And blushed. Seriously?

“A-are you sure? I messed up so terribly-” as he said it, he relived it, and next thing he knew, he was overcome with shame.

He covered his face with his hands and groaned. Figures he’d fuck up so badly. He’d never been concerned about not knowing what to do before- he was always more upset about not having the opportunity to do it. But now he had the opportunity- the invitation- and he’d fucked up royally. If he kept this up, he’d lose his opportunity too.

“Jason don’t want to?”

“I want to, Percy, but…” he looked out from between his fingers to see Percy watching him with a very hesitant and concerned expression.

“I hurt you, Percy, and I might do it again. And then you’re not going to like it, and it’s just going to be terrible- mortifying, really- and I just don’t- I don’t want that. I really like you, and I don’t want you to think of me as ‘the guy that hurt me because he didn’t know what the hell he was doing,’ and-”

He looked up as he paused to catch his breath, stilling his hands as he realized they’d been gesturing wildly. Percy stared down at him blankly.

Then he looked away from Jason, and looked around the forest, his face screwing up like he was trying really hard to remember something.

“Jason… don’t... know?”

He looked down for confirmation. Jason gazed up at him, feeling dazed.

“I… do you know that phrase?” If Percy knew it, Jason must have said it before. Even as he thought this, he realized that his current words were actually very similar too. But did they convey the right meaning? He shook both his hand and his head to show Percy to disregard the question.

“Yes, I… I don’t know.”

Percy nodded.

“Jason…”

He faltered without finishing his thought, obviously lacking the words to express himself. Percy snorted in frustration, and then sighed heavily. He lifted his leg up and off Jason so he could sit by his side, facing away. Jason sat up fully, and watched Percy’s back as the man breathed. He felt guilty. Now he’d disappointed Percy in a different way.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“Percy, I…”

Jason’s hand crept around his waist, and Percy looked down to watch it.

“Is it alright if I do this?”

Percy didn’t recognize any keywords, but since the hesitant fingers were wrapping around his cock, he didn’t really care.

“Jason stroke my cock?”

“Yes, I want to stroke you.” There was a pause. “Please?”

There was that word again. At first he’d thought it was something to say when you’re being pleasured, but… Jason had said it while apologizing, and now, while asking permission to play with him. It seemed more like something to say when you were asking for something. He turned his head to the side and found Jason watching him cautiously, biting both of his lips.

“I want to lick Jason’s cock.”

Jason’s hand faltered where it was touching him. Percy watched as the man’s throat worked over a nervous swallow and his eyelashes fluttered over half-masted eyes in a submissive gesture. Jason’s words were confusing sometimes, but more often than not, it was easy enough to read his replies before he ever opened his mouth.

Jason nodded, and Percy, anticipating the response, rolled over until he was facing Jason again. He lowered his mouth to Jason’s nipple, and licked there just as Jason had done to him. Then he took the little nub in his mouth and sucked hard. Jason cried out and jerked under him, his hands tangling into Percy’s hair as his chest pushed out into Percy’s mouth.

It was incredible. He’s never seen gorillas do this to one another, and if Jason hadn’t done it to him, he’d have never guessed how effective this was during play. He let his mouth move down, exploring all the dips and swells of muscle that had been pleasurable to him when Jason was the one in charge. He found that Jason had stronger reactions in different places than him. The little dip at the base of his chest had him squirming and mewling, but the curve of his muscles on his stomach that had driven Percy crazy didn’t make Jason do much more than pant.

He pulled away with a frustrated growl when his lips hit fabric.

Sitting up, Percy wrestled with the now familiar mechanics of the belt and pants, pulling the top hem down sharply. He cooed in approval when Jason lifted his hips to help the process. He paused as Jason’s dick flipped around to lie diagonally across his belly. He was tempted to stop there, but he wanted to see Jason’s completely bare, the way Percy was. He kept pulling, pushing Jason’s legs closer together so the fabric would slide off easier. Jason started making some disgruntled noises, but Percy ignored them until he heard, “No.”

He looked up. Jason seemed startled by his stopping, then submissive again. Percy really liked seeing him like that. He finally understood what his brothers were always going on about when they chattered about females yielding. He looked down to keep going when he realized he had no idea what to do with Jason’s shoes. He picked at the laces a bit before Jason’s soft hands reached down to remove them. Percy watched and made a mental note of the process. Then he wrestled the last little bit of Jason’s clothes off and returned his gaze to his prize.

Jason sat looking like he was thinking about bolting and not meeting Percy’s gaze. Percy placed his hand onto Jason’s ankle and pushed it up, enjoying the feeling of the soft hair as his fingers pushed it against the grain. Jason’s thigh twitched inwards as he got close to his groin, and Percy couldn’t help his grin. He surged forward, his hand wrapping around Jason’s dick, and his mouth pressing to Jason’s lips. He tugged lightly and Jason moaned sweetly in reply. Satisfied that Jason had relaxed a little and didn’t seem to be at risk of running away anymore, Percy went back to what his original goal was: playing with Jason’s genitals using his mouth.

He made himself comfortable on the ground between Jason’s legs, and then dove into Jason’s pubic hair, inhaling hard. He remembered how the first time he’d tried to scent Jason on the riverbank, the man had pushed him away and blushed wildly. Tonight, he rested a hand lightly on Percy’s shoulder and whimpered. He couldn’t help but marvel at how his life had taken such a sharp turn.

Percy pulled away for a moment to look up. He wanted to see Jason’s eyes. They were as big and beautiful as ever. Percy made a mental note to steal Jason’s glasses again sometime so he could look at his eyes without anything in the way.

Then he picked up Jason’s penis and licked the tip. Jason cried out. He licked again and again, and Jason’s legs rose to wrap around his head, his heels digging into Percy’s back as he tried to push up against Percy’s mouth.

Percy snickered against the cock, enjoying Jason’s reactions to pleasure. He’d never seen a gorilla get so enthusiastic about play, and he was suddenly reminded how happy he was that Jason was not a gorilla. He let Jason take his pleasure for a while, lapping playfully against the penis that was so desperately humped against his face, bumping his lips, chin, and nose.

The increasing frequency of Jason’s cries had Percy suspecting that the man was likely to climax soon. He frowned, wanting to play a bit more.

Getting both hands firmly wrapped around Jason’s hips, he disentangled himself from Jason’s legs, wrestling his face out of reach.

Jason whined, and Percy froze.

Jason’s face was open and earnest, his lips swollen. Even this far away from the fire, his face and chest were noticeably dark with a flush. His eyes were glossy with wetness, and a tear balanced and shimmered on his left lower lashes.

Percy reached a finger under the glasses to wipe the tear away. Jason looked more beautiful than ever before right now. And the pleading noise he’d made…

“Percy, please.”

“Yes...”

Percy looked back down. The swollen cock was straining and twitching as if it had a life of its own. There was a mess of wetness on Jason’s stomach around it- a mixture Percy’s saliva and Jason’s own strong tasting essence shining invitingly. Percy found himself unable to remember why he pulled away or what his plan had been. He dropped back down and sucked hard on the underside, right over the line of a large vein. Jason gasped like he’d jumped in cold water- high, hollow, and raspy- so, naturally, Percy did it again.

Jason tried to shove his hips completely off the ground, feet firmly planted and body heaving itself up. Percy had to forcibly pin him to the ground as the gyrations made it hard to continue play. Shifting his arms so he could hold himself up on his forearms against Jason’s hipbones, Percy took the cap of Jason’s cock in his mouth and sucked. Hard.

Jason yelled but it came out muffled. Percy spared a glance up and found that Jason had both hands clamped tight over his mouth. He couldn’t help but chuckle against the flesh between his lips which earned him a yelp. As he sucked, Jason’s feet slowly slid out under him until his hips no longer had leverage to buck. Instead, Jason placed the balls of his feet into the small of Percy’s back and melted under him, only rolling his hips now and then to ask for more pleasure.

Percy, on the one hand, _realized_ that Jason was about to come when the man’s back seized and contorted into an arch. On the _other_ hand, he'd completely forgot what inevitably happens during orgasm. The hot come shooting down his throat surprised him so much he didn’t even pull away, just let his lips fall open and then stayed frozen in shock as waves of Jason’s come hit his tongue and rolled off.

When the member in his hand finally stopped straining to shoot and just oozed another line of fluid, Percy finally ducked down to clean the mess up. He licked Jason's dick completely spotless, which pulled some more moans and quivers from Jason, then carefully sucked at the come that had landed on Jason’s pubic hair. Once Jason was reasonably clean, Percy sat up and tried to clean off his own face, which was sticky all down his chin, and even down his throat. He was still pushing what was left of Jason’s semen into his mouth when Jason sat up and pulled him forward by his shoulders. Percy tried to crawl forward, but Jason stopped his leg from travelling. After a bit more maneuvering, it finally became clear that Jason wanted Percy to lie down on top of him. Percy carefully settled down, letting his legs splay on either side of Jason’s now closed thighs. He looked at Jason’s face to see if the man wanted to kiss, but Jason looked nervous and kept breaking eye contact. Percy waited and watched as Jason tried a few times to say something, but nothing came out.

Finally, Jason reached down wordlessly. Percy raised his hips to accommodate Jason’s hand that was trying to get between their hips. The hand—unsteady and fumbling—wrapped around Percy’s dick and maneuvered it from where it was heavily resting next to Jason’s own to push it down between Jason’s tightly clenched thighs.

“Jason!”

The name spilled from his lips unexpectedly. The feeling of his cock being where it was, tightly held between Jason’s legs, just lightly brushing Jason’s balls, was delightful. The man was a miracle. Percy found himself drowning in Jason’s apprehensive, beautiful eyes. Shifting his weight to just one forearm, he reached up with his right hand to pluck off Jason’s glasses, lifting them up and over Jason’s head since he knew there was a string preventing him from setting the glasses off to the side. Gorgeous.

“Percy? Do you like that?”

“I like that.”

Jason’s features seemed to relax a bit, though there was still an unexplained tension in his shoulders, so Percy kissed him to reassure him. It didn’t quite seem to work. He rolled his hips a bit, tighter into the heat of Jason’s thighs, wanting to explore this new kind of play. This only made Jason’s body language more shy.

“What? Jason blush. What?”

“Y-you mean why. Why are you blushin-”

“Why are you blushing, Jason?” Percy wanted to get to the point.

“I… I’ve never done this before. And I don't know what I'm doing at all, but I’m just… I hope you like this.”

That didn’t really help Percy understand. "I like it, Jason."

There was some kind of idea about Jason's shyness forming in the depths of Percy's mind, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it was yet. His hips bucked again, seemingly of their own will. It felt so good to be like this. He would have to think about Jason’s words and behavior again later. He pulled his hips back slowly, enjoying the feeling of the skin covering his dick being pulled forward, before sliding back in with some speed. Adjusting his arms and legs for better leverage, he did this a few more times. Jason was lying completely still underneath him, though obviously trying to keeps his legs tight around Percy.

“What is this called?”

“This is… sex. Um… fucking. You’re…” Jason paused and Percy could see his face flush wildly, “You’re fucking my thighs.”

“I like this.”

He picked up pace and grunted his approval when Jason's grip got tighter. Finally lifting himself from his forearms, Percy braced one hand on Jason’s hip, the other on his shoulder, and managed to get an even more satisfying stroke. Jason whimpered underneath him and, just as Percy refocused his sight on Jason’s stunning eyes, draped his hands around Percy’s neck.

Percy choked on pleasure.

The most incredible thing was how natural this felt. His hips moved easily without any input from him. Percy realized at some point that this must look a lot like a male mounting a female from a distance, and more pleasure blossomed in his abdomen at the thought. Letting Percy do this was the ultimate submission from Jason. Percy whined and let his hips snap so violently he was in danger of breaking either himself or Jason. His fingers dug into Jason’s skin as he reached his euphoria. Percy snarled as he pushed his hips as hard against Jason’s thighs as they would go.

He could feel his come making a mess between Jason’s legs as his dick quivered and pulsed and his hips shook. It was an incredible thought- imagining what it would look like when Jason opened his legs again.

It seemed that Jason was also curious about that visual because as soon as Percy had pulled his member out from between his legs, the man was opening his thighs, sitting up to take a look.

It looked every bit as delectable as Percy had imagined. The majority of his come had spilled on the ground, but there were big milky streaks of the stuff all along the insides and backs of Jason’s pale legs.

Percy groaned at the sight, running a hand through some of the come to get a taste. Jason watched him curiously as he brought his hand to his mouth and licked it all off. Then Jason started backing away, turning around and getting ready to stand up. Not yet. Percy lunged to keep him in place. Jason squeaked, bent under his weight. Percy looked down to find the mess again, but instead his eyes got caught on the sight of Jason’s round ass, pale and perky. He remembered how amazing it had felt against his crotch when he'd played with Jason in the afternoon. Next time he fucked Jason’s thighs, he wanted to do it from behind.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason couldn’t help the whimper that came out when Percy licked his soiled thighs from behind. He was so sensitive there. Even while Percy was rutting between his legs, he’d started getting a little hard again. Deciding that Percy was the last person to judge him for acting wanton, Jason spread his knees a bit and leaned forward, giving Percy better access to his treat. In such a compromising position, he couldn’t help but imagine Percy licking something a bit higher. His face burned at the imagined sensation. Erotic, but likely way too gross and intimate to ask the other man for.

Finally, Percy was satisfied with how clean Jason was and, with one quick passing sniff at Jason’s ass, helped him stand. Jason decided not to comment on the scenting, afraid to draw attention to the area lest Percy try to explore there.

How was it that he was scared of both? Scared of Percy being too disgusted to explore Jason's asshole and scared of Percy being enthusiastic about it.

They dressed silently, just Percy throwing him grins now and then, and Jason returning small smiles. When they were done, Percy lowered Jason to the forest floor once more. They lay in silence for a bit, the back of Jason’s head pillowed by Percy’s shoulder, listening to the sounds of the forest. Then Percy started asking questions about how to say certain things and Jason rolled over onto his elbows to he could gesture along with his explanations.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

There was no way he’d get enough sleep by morning. Jason was walking carefully toward the campfire after having said his goodbyes to Percy. He’d taught him how to count and enumerate while they were lying together. He’d explained temporal concepts like “never” and “always” and explained some more about conjugation when talking about the past. It was difficult, but he'd even found ways to explain words of expression so they could communicate their feelings. When pressed, Jason had added on some vocabulary from the sexual acts they'd done so far. “Open Jason’s thighs,” ended up being Percy’s favorite, much to Jason’s delighted embarrassment. Percy was such a fast learner it was terrifying at times. So soon after learning his very first English word, he could already string together countless intelligible, if a bit convoluted, sentences.

Jason finally made it to the clearing. He didn’t bother looking around as he sleepily swayed his way over to his sleeping bag.

“So you _are_ a little slut.”

Octavian sat by the fire. He gave Jason a faux pensive look.

“Try to be a good little boy and stay in your sleeping bag for the rest of the night. Wouldn’t want you losing any more of your virtue to wild beasts.”

Jason watched him stand up and walk to his own sleeping bag on the other side of camp.

Eyes full of tears, Jason turned to go lie down.


	6. Aches of the Ape Man

Jason traveled in silence.

When they had all just woken up, some of his travelling companions had tried to ply him with more questions about the Ape Man, but they eventually gave him space when he continued to only mumble minimal answers.

He could feel the tension in the air- all eyes on him, wondering, waiting for his mood to lift so they could jump back in with their inquiries. William had hovered around for a bit in the morning, studying him, helping him pack, before Nico had pulled him away quietly and the two of them orbited him from a distance, muttering amongst each other and glaring at Octavian now and then. Did they know what their employer was really like, when no one was watching? Even his sister and Reyna, who were normally very accommodating to his shyness, seemed like they wanted to crawl inside his brain and look around. 

If only he were just feeling shy today.

How much had Octavian seen? How much had he heard? Who would he tell? Would he keep it to himself so he could torment Jason in private without anyone knowing that something was wrong? Or would he announce what he’d witnessed at the worst possible and most humiliating moment?

Tears stung Jason’s eyes again, and he defiantly tried to review his plan of what words he was going to explain to Percy next. He was  _not_  going to cry. Octavian could look over at any moment, and Jason would rather trip, fall into a ravine, and die a horrible, slow death than give the man that satisfaction.

Octavian had watched him all day. Jason could feel his gaze more sharply than anyone else’s. And unlike everyone else, he couldn’t seem to avoid it. He was happy to ignore everyone else, but Octavian… Jason couldn’t help himself. It’s like his eyes wanted to triple check that what had occurred last night wasn’t just a terrible nightmare. Wanted to know for certain whether or not the man looked smug about the power he now held over Jason.

He did. Every time they locked eyes, the bastard had that ugly half-sneer, half-smirk on his face. It was subtle- nothing anyone would pick up on if they weren’t looking for it, but Jason swore that Octavian’s eyes held nothing but malice.

He wanted to carve those eyes out.

How  _dare_  Octavian intrude on him like that? How  _dare_  he watch something that was so private, and beautiful, and intimate?

Oh,  _god_ , last night had been so wonderful. Jason wanted to cry again, this time thinking about Percy’s hot cock slipping between his thighs, his sack being squished against Jason with every thrust. He recalled the sensation of Percy’s tongue licking hot come off the backs of his thighs and a full-body shiver broke out.

Jason slapped his neck as if swatting at an insect, suddenly self-conscious about being surrounded by people and wanting to deflect just so no one would question the sudden shudder and what could have caused it.

Unbidden, and as if to help put nails in his coffin of self-consciousness, the memory of Percy sucking his dick hit him full force and blossomed into every vivid detail possible.

Jason remembered that he’d cried out. He’d also clapped his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound, but maybe that had been enough noise to alert Octavian. Maybe it  _was_  his fault. It’s not like having sex in the middle of the jungle with no walls to hide behind was particularly responsible.

He sagged with the thought.

Jason had already blamed himself a few times for his situation, but it never got any easier to stomach.

Maybe he deserved all the abuse Octavian had slung his way on this trip. If he’d had a little more self-control, been a little less desperate and needy, he would have been able to resist his desire for Percy. Sure, he would have died a virgin, but at least he’d have his dignity and innocence intact. No one would be justified calling him a _slut_.

Subtly, turning his head so Octavian wouldn’t see and pretending to adjust his glasses, Jason wiped away a tear.

He just desperately wanted to not feel so dirty anymore.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy was having the best day of his life.

He’d, well,  _basically_  mounted Jason yesterday. And it was amazing.  _Jason_  was amazing. Jason was better than anything he’d ever imagined could possibly happen to him. Jason had yielded, and surrendered, and submitted to him, and Percy outright moaned with happiness every time he thought about that.

Not only that, but afterwards, after Percy had licked Jason’s shapely thighs clean, they’d laid together talking and Percy had felt so complete. Even in almost full darkness, seeing Jason’s smile as the man tried to explain a word to him, had left Percy feeling breathless, his whole heart and body aching with how much he cared for this other person. This whole other person that actually wanted him in every way, that had fun with him, that teased him, and responded enthusiastically to Percy’s touches.

Percy’s face burned and the ache in his chest reached a crescendo. He sighed and tried to relax against the tree branch he was lying on. The birds continued singing and Percy’s soul sang with them.

What a beautiful day to be in love.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Octavian sipped his post-dinner coffee.

He’d been watching Jason while they were all eating, but now he was spaced out with his gaze set somewhere near Jason’s feet. He got jerked out of his thoughts every now and then when someone passed in front of him, but he quickly floated off again each time.

In his mind’s eye, he could see clearly every curve of Jason’s torso as the man writhed under him. Thanks to the jungle man, he now knew exactly what Jason would sound like when pleasured. He filled in the blanks- how it would feel to smooth his hands down the soft skin of Jason’s sides, how it would feel to pinch each pink nipple. His mind went on a small tangent, and he imagined pinching a sensitive nipple so hard Jason cried out. His imaginary fingernails dug cruelly into the small nub and Jason begged him to stop, tears in his eyes, hands attempting to both push him away and pull him close. Jason was afraid of pain yet  _desperate_  to be dominated.

Octavian drank the last of his coffee.

He tried a few times to settle back into the fantasy, but it was awkward now that he didn’t have any excuse to keep to himself. Sighing, he stood up and walked to get more coffee from the pot, grateful for his body’s decision to  _not_  get an erection. If he was _any_ younger... On the other hand, it might be entertaining to walk up in front of Jason with an obvious tent and watch the man squirm to avoid looking at it.

Charon filled his mug. He spoke about where they were going next, and how they would find what the party was looking for along that trail, but Octavian was barely listening. Watching Charon speak, his ears buzzed with half-formed thoughts.

Jason was fucking the Ape Man.

Jason was very submissive.

Octavian wanted to take advantage of the upper hand he gained last night.

Jason was submissive and Octavian wanted to use it to his advantage.

His thoughts started on another loop of statements that didn’t seem willing to provide him with a course of action. The headache he’d felt creeping up ever since he stood up now suddenly bloomed across his temples.

He sipped his coffee, nodded curtly to Charon, and walked back to his seat.

Once there, he realized that he couldn’t remember if Charon had finished speaking. He rubbed his forehead, and looked up at Jason just in time to see the man glance away.

He forgot about his headache as his brain instantly supplied images of Jason’s pretty, perfectly formed lips wrapped around the head of his cock. That flash of eyelashes in real life blossomed into an even more powerful mental image, where imaginary Jason was following orders and making eye contact with Octavian while he blew him, but then looked away, suddenly abashed.

Octavian very firmly drank from his mug, determined not to let out the moan that was itching at his throat. It wasn’t too hard- he didn’t like making noise even when actually engaged in sex. Though daydreaming was certainly more titillating than the actual deed.

The memory of Jason’s deep moan cut through his thoughts. Now  _there_  was a man that should never suppress his wanton noises.

Octavian’s thumb twitched against his mug as he imagined tugging at the puckered rim of Jason’s asshole with the same motion. Would Jason moan at that? Would he beg like a little slut when Octavian worked him open with his fingers? Would he arch his back and whine when Octavian pushed his cock inside that tight heat?

This time Octavian had to clear his throat. He’d made a noise that was probably subtle enough that no one noticed, but sounded clear and obvious to him.

Taking another sip of his coffee, he sighed, and looked back up at Jason from the spot he’d spaced out on. Headache-inducing or not, he had to turn his attention back on those fragmented plans that were swirling around his head.

He had to have Jason. And even _more_ importantly, he had to...

Octavian smiled.

One way or another, he'd achieve both goals.

Finishing his coffee, he stood up. Immediately, Jason’s nervous eyes were on him. Octavian let their gaze hold for a bit, then turned and walked to his research partner.

Luke would certainly appreciate the plan that was slowly starting to precipitate and coalesce out of the fog of his headache.


	7. Passions of the Ape Man

They were both whispering about something in the corner of the clearing, now and then shooting cool stares at Jason, daring him to make a fuss.

Jason tried to ignore it, but there was little hope of that helping matters.

It wasn’t just Octavian and Luke, either, and he wasn’t just being paranoid. He saw others giving him dark looks, whispering among themselves with their eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

What had Octavian said?

What had he implied?

It had been three days. Three days of him not daring to sneak off. He’d heard the leaves shaking both nights, Percy somewhere nearby in the middle of the night, but Jason didn’t dare meet him. Miserably, he’d pretended to be asleep. He hoped Percy wasn’t too upset by the treatment, but it would simply be too easy for Octavian to think of something cruel to do if he was given a second chance to catch them in a compromising situation.

He sat fanning himself and swatting at insects. They were stopped for a long midday break, the heat and humidity too oppressive that day for everyone to move up the mountain they were attempting to cross.

Jason finally snapped.

It was time to do something about the doom that was looming over him.

No way he’d let Octavian continue to bully him about something that Jason didn’t technically have to be scared of. Octavian wasn’t his employer; Reyna was. Reyna wasn’t so cruel as to fire him for his romantic preferences. Probably.

“Octavian, mind a word in private?”

Those dark, sunken eyes turned up to him, shrewd and dangerous.

“Sure.”

Jason didn’t wait for Octavian to stand, pivoting on his heel and marching into the trees, pulling at his shirt to try to get some air circulating into his clothes and against his sweaty skin. He tripped repeatedly, too lost in his thoughts, too angry and trying to figure out what he would say to release that anger to watch under his feet. He kept marching until he heard Octavian’s voice.

“Don’t you think we’re far enough away? Unless you’re trying to make sure no one will hear you moan and scream this time?”

Jason rounded on Octavian and got in his space, shoving and growling.

“I’m _not_ a slut, Octavian! And —once and for all—I’m _never_ going to sleep with you!”

Octavian’s face froze halfway between shock and anger. Then his lip rolled up into a snarl and he shoved back.

Jason righted himself from his initial stumble, but Octavian’s foot shot out and he was tripping again, unable to balance himself. He twisted, trying to break his fall but the world tipped up to meet him too fast and his front collided hard with the ground. Jason was still reeling from the impact against old bruises when Octavian was on him, shoving at the back of his neck, hand slipping around to grope Jason through his pants. Jason bucked, growling, his hands grasping at dirt, trying to leverage against the ground, but unable to throw Octavian’s weight off balance.

Octavian collapsed onto him, the arm pushing on the back of his neck winding around to put him in a chokehold instead. Jason tried again to lift himself, but the hold tightened and his arms gave out.

“You _are_ a slut. You just need a firm hand, don’t you? The Ape Man took what _he_ wanted, and now I’m going to take what _I_ want. I wonder, are you going to let our whole camp mount you? Reem that tight little ass out?”

“I don’t want this- Percy didn’t force me-”

He landed a good backfist on Octavian’s hip. Octavian yelped, then deadweighted onto Jason.

“Bet that dumb ape doesn’t even know how to do it right,” he growled into Jason’s ear. “He’s so happy to just rub up against you, he doesn’t realize that true happiness is found by getting inside you, using you like the hole you are.”

“Fuck off!”

“I’m going to fuck your tight hole and have you beg for more, Jason. I’m gonna fuck you the way your Ape Man can’t satisfy you. I’m going to get so deep inside you, you’ll never forget what it felt like-”

There had to be a way to get out of this hold. There must be-

“No!” Jason roared, unable to accept that this was actually happening. “No, no, no-”

“Jason say, ‘No!’”

There was a thud and Octavian’s grip went slack. Jason shot out of the awful embrace, rolling onto his back to find Percy towering over a still dazed Octavian, a big knobby branch waving threateningly between them. Percy drew breath and let loose a loud bellow so frightening that even Jason fell back, and Octavian was suddenly jerked out of his dizziness. He scrambled to his feet, and ran stumbling back in the direction of camp.

Percy stood staring after him for a long while, huffing aggressively as if to tell Octavian not to even consider returning. Then he turned around and briskly walked over, tossing the stick he was carrying aside before kneeling down in front of Jason.

“You hurt?”

Even as Percy asked, he was already sniffing at Jason, pulling at his hands and checking them over, looking everywhere for any sign of injury. Jason looked at his own hands, not recognizing them at first. He hadn’t realized he was shaking.

“No, I don’t think I’m hurt…”

Percy finally met his gaze and Jason tried not to shrink or flinch under the angry stare. Percy jerked his jaw behind him.

“That… man. Fuck you?”

Jason jerked his hands away, jaw quivering. Percy’s bluntness was like a blow.

“No, he wanted to.”

Percy stared at him some more, his face still angry.

“You… he fuck you…” he paused to think, “-before?”

“No!”

Jason shoved at Percy’s shoulder. The tears in his eyes finally made good on their threats and rolled down his cheeks in fat, hot globs. Percy had no right to interrogate him like this while Jason was still hyperventilating through his terror.

He had no right to be jealous.

“But-”

“He saw us! When you and I were doing things. He-” he gestured to his eyes with two fingers and then pointed outward in what he hoped was a universal gesture. “Saw us. And he was jealous. _Jealous_ . He saw _you_ have  what _he_ wanted.”

Jason hadn’t realized how angry he was until he heard himself panting harshly. He was _livid_.

Percy sat back, giving him some space. Jason itched to punch him anyway.

“Oh.”

They sat in silence as Jason got air back in his lungs and wiped his tears away. Then Percy spoke up quietly.

“Percy also jealous. I see-” he gestured his head back again.

“Octavian.”

“See Octavian. Jealous. Octavian say I don’t know pleasure you. Jealous.”

Jason flushed, mortified.

“You heard all that?”

Percy nodded, and Jason looked away. How much had Percy understood?

“Next time, save me sooner. I don’t _want_ Octavian.”

He saw out of the corner of his eye that Percy stayed crouched, watching him without reaction. Jason turned back, not sure where to go from here. Immediately, Percy crawled forward, walking on his knuckles, and pressed a kiss to Jason’s lips. Then he nuzzled in, rubbing Jason’s tears away with his nose and soft cheek. Jason relaxed some as Percy continued, eventually reciprocating, trying to memorize Percy's soft face with his own.

“I want to… pleasure you right.” Percy’s whisper was just a tad too loud to be sensual, breaking the moment, and it made Jason smile a little. Did apes act sensually with each other?

“You did. It was perfect.”

“I want to do it _right_. Inside you, Octavian said.”

Jason pulled away. His mind raced with a million thoughts, almost all of them images of the different ways that Percy could take him. He glanced over Percy’s shoulder, wondering if Octavian would send anyone their way. What should he say?

“Percy, you… don’t have to do that to pleasure me. I… don’t need it.”

“Need?”

“I don’t want it.”

Percy pulled away to stare into Jason's eyes, his breath heavy against Jason’s lips.

“You don’t want I fuck you?”

“No, no, I want it, I just…” Jason found himself lost in green eyes, wide and watching for context clues to his words. That beautiful face was completely open, ready to listen to what he had to say, to respond just as honestly. Jason leaned in to kiss him softly. “Alright.”

He was bowled over the next moment, Percy pressing in tightly against him with a hot kiss and pulling at Jason’s clothes. Jason tried not to think, too tired from all previous emotions. He let the exploring hands wander as he sighed happily under the attention and comfort. His clothes were sticky against his skin from the sweat and humidity and he was happy to have them shed easily with any effort on his part.

Percy kissed down his neck, quietly murmuring Jason’s name and making his soft ape noises. It _was_ sensual, in a way. Jason’s shirt, entirely unbuttoned, was pulled off his shoulders and down his arms then left forgotten, leaving Jason’s hands blessedly pinned and unburdened of the responsibility of participation. He wondered if Percy would mind Jason being pliant and needy, unable to reciprocate after his adrenaline crash.

His buckle came undone with minimal jerking and rattling, Percy’s fingers set on their task with intense focus.

Jason wondered about the camp, about Octavian, about being found like this, and found himself unable to care. Wouldn't it be a relief to finally stop hiding? To have Thalia stand up for him instead of always trying to find a way to assert and validate himself? Percy’s hot tongue traced across his collarbone and he shivered, pleading for more. Percy hummed in response, bending down to tease a hardening nipple with bites and pulls of his soft wet lips, working Jason’s pants off in the process. Hazy, needy, Jason struggled against the restraint of his shirt sleeves, his fingers finding Percy’s biceps and digging in.

Percy sat up abruptly, panting as he reached to his side to grab Jason’s boot and pull it off, undoing the laces incredibly dexterously. Jason laughed. Of course Percy could learn even that with so little effort.

Then he realized that he was splayed out, naked and vulnerable, for the very first time in broad daylight and sat up, looking around.

Percy barely noticed, only looking from his unlacing task up to kiss Jason briefly. Jason realized that Percy didn’t realize the magnitude of anything that was happening right now. How long Jason had angsted about being alone and untouched?

He was terrified even now of getting a taste of something he’d never have again.

He didn’t mean to cry again, so he looked up at the canopy, trying to blink away the gathering blurriness.

Percy’s calloused fingertips brushed against his ears, and Jason made himself look down to find himself looking into bright, scared eyes. A tear escaped down Jason’s cheek, and Percy reverted to quiet ape-like hooting, his hands seemingly trying to both console Jason and avoid touching him altogether. Unable to contain the force of his crisis any further, Jason fell forward into that muscular chest and let himself cry, rubbing his face into slick skin as his tears mixed in with Percy’s sweat. He was being an idiot. Better to blame the tears on Octavian’s attack instead of dwelling on his anxieties.

Percy continued cooing, arms coming to rest in a barely-there halo around Jason’s shoulders before finally solidifying into a solid embrace.

Jason’s fingers pressed against powerful core muscles, tracing the neat folds of skin covering those tight abdominals. As he grounded himself on Percy’s body, he opened his eyes and remembered the first time he’d almost touched Percy’s chest, only minutes after meeting him, pulling his hand away because this chest was not his to touch. He tilted his head now to lick the skin he was tightly pressed against, tasting the salt on it, moaning into the massive pectoral, excited to be allowed this.

Percy’s hand moved to cup the back of his head and press it closer.

Not allowed— _encouraged_.

Jason obliged, licking and laving at available skin before ducking down to suck a nipple when he felt Percy’s other hand slip between his legs to tug at his dick, still soft but interested in where this was going.

Percy moaned his name, and Jason sucked harder, reaching out to massage at Percy’s cock, already large and hard. Percy said his name again, and Jason looked up, curious.

“I don’t know?”

“Know what?” Jason asked.

“How… inside you. Mount you? How?”

Jason had wondered if Percy would know. If he’d thought about it. If Percy learned everything he knew from his troop, and if male gorillas ever…

He kissed Percy, climbing into his lap…

Jason stopped, straddling Percy.

They sat locked in that moment, Percy gazing widely up at him, Jason staring nervously down at him.

Slowly, Jason reached down to tug at Percy’s loincloth. 

“Take it off.”

Percy reached for it and fumbled to unravel it without looking away from Jason’s face. Jason smoothed his hands down his own ribs and belly to smooth out the goosebumps. His heart was beating so loud he could feel it booming in his sternum.

What were they going to use for lubricant? In the middle of a jungle, this wasn’t exactly a problem he could fix by running to the store.

He slipped his hand up into his mouth.

Percy continued to watch him curiously, his hands now slowly stroking his cock. Jason watched the foreskin close over the head and pull back again on every stroke.

Percy wasn’t huge. Thank God for reasonably sized miracles.

“Jason?”

He locked eyes with Percy.

Gulping nervously, Jason pulled his fingers out of his mouth, watching the saliva shine for a moment before reaching back. Before it evaporated. What was he thinking?

He held his breath as his finger brushed against the tightly furled skin of his hole.

“Jason?”

Again, Jason looked up briefly at Percy, those big green eyes, those wonderfully crafted features, but his eyes couldn’t hold. His fingers pushed in and the sensation took up so much of his attention that his gaze dropped. As he wormed his finger in as far as it would go, his world became only touch sensations. The tops of Percy’s thighs were sticking to the underside of Jason’s in the heat. Their leghair was tickling him. Percy’s strong shoulder flexed in his hand. The muscles of his anus rolled and clenched around his finger. The rough intrusion of his own calloused finger pushed deeper into him. Sweat rolled in hot streams down his face.

“Jason.”

Jason moaned and leaned into a kiss to shut Percy up. He couldn’t. He couldn’t explain. He couldn’t do that and hold onto his determination.

He could stop. He could decide the obstacles were insurmountable. The lack of lube, Percy not understanding what was going on, his own catastrophic state of emotions.

But he wanted this so bad.

Jason wriggled another fingertip into himself, gasping at the feeling of the rim constricting around it, the muscle tight as rope rather than flesh. Percy rubbed their faces together, cooing softly. His hands were wandering up Jason’s thighs in question and exploration. Jason wondered if he’d reach around to find out what Jason was doing that had him so wrecked.

He pushed the fingers a little deeper, struggling with the dampness. His saliva wasn't wet enough to make it easy, just moist enough to stick and catch. He growled, frustrated with himself, the situation, with Percy, with Octavian, and with his own dick for being so unapologetically hard and into it.

It stung when Jason tried to pull his fingers apart from each other, and he pulled away from the kiss hissing, even as Percy’s lips tried to chase him.

Percy gave him a confused look. “Jason don’t want sex?”

Jason sighed and shook his head. “Not the way I was thinking, I guess.”

He pulled his fingers out, and sat down in Percy’s crossed legs, leaning to the side to wipe his fingers on the grass as best as he could.

He gave up.

He simply gave up.

Jason smiled a bit and used his other hand to wipe the old tear tracks off his face before looking up at Percy through his wet lashes. “Would you like to fuck my thighs again?”

It took a few moments for Percy to catch up, and when he did, his fingers locked into Jason’s waist, kneading at the skin. “ _Yes._ ”

The next moment, Jason was being manhandled onto the ground behind him. He had just started to chuckle in delight when Percy rolled him onto his front and Jason froze, confused. But then Percy was on top of him, covering him, smothering him with the heat of his body, and Percy’s cock, heavy with blood, traced damp lines into the hair on Jason’s thighs.

Like _this?_

Percy was a fucking genius.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy was a _fucking genius._

He shuddered as his cock pushed between those two muscular thighs once more, shuddered again as Jason clenched tighter around him. He pressed into Jason’s body, kissing down his neck and back and keeping him wrapped securely in his embrace.

Jason kept making small noises, either of encouragement or quiet complaint, Percy couldn’t tell. The man was hard to read today. First he was too upset to want sex, then he was insistent upon it, now he was locked up tight and wordless. Percy nipped over a smooth shoulder blade. Jason moaned, and Percy took it as a good sign.

Percy extracted one arm from under Jason, shifting his weight, and brought his hand up to spit in it. He reached down and quickly spread it over his dick.

Much better.

Percy’s eyes fluttered closed. This was somehow even better than when he’d done this from the front. Having Jason’s plush ass against his pelvis as he rolled his hips was pure bliss.

Feeling mischievous, Percy groped one plump asscheek, pulling it to the side and kneeding it.

“Percy, _please_.”

Percy opened his eyes. Jason liked getting groped? Grinning, Percy worked on pulling his other arm from around Jason and sat up, eyes roaming up and down that wonderful curve of his lover’s spine.

He grabbed at the other half of his lover’s wonderfully fleshy ass and squeezed, reveling in Jason’s moans, eyes intent on how his dick slipped out of sight just under the two swells. He slowed down to fully drink in the sight- the way his balls squished up around his dick when he pushed in, the contrast of his angrily colored cock and Jason’s pale thighs.

Then his eyes caught on Jason’s hole.

Nestled in dark blonde hair, it was twitching a little, damp with sweat, and for a second Percy had a naughty thought about poking it and making Jason jump with fright.

Then his smile slowly slid off.

What _had_ Jason been doing, reaching behind himself?

What had Octavian meant?

This made the most sense out of everything.

Percy’s motions had stilled, and he glanced at the back of Jason’s head. How would Jason react? Would he be upset because Percy misunderstood? Pleased that Percy had found out what he desired?

Without removing his palms from their prizes, Percy peeled one finger off Jason’s sweaty flushed skin and brushed it into the wiry hair covering that little hole.

Jason’s heaving breaths stilled.

There was silence and Percy suddenly felt dizzy from the lack of yelling on Jason’s part.

He pushed his finger tighter against that hole, feeling it twitch and clench under his touch, wriggling his fingertip to pull the rim apart a little.

Jason stayed unbelievably still.

Percy watched his lover’s hands flex into grass and dirt, the knuckles turning white.

Was Jason as coy about wanting this sort of play as he had been about everything else?

Still rubbing Jason’s asshole, Percy took his dick in hand and stroked himself as he sat on the back of Jason’s thighs and thought about how to go about doing what he meant to do.

Would this work?

Percy took his finger off Jason and popped it in his mouth, smothering it in saliva.

Jason kept still, though now he was breathing harshly.

Percy pushed the finger past the hair, to the rim, and… didn’t make it any further than that, the muscle clenched tight and denying him entry. Then Jason’s hips shifted, lifting up, and Percy rose up onto his knees. He watched those beautiful, wonderful thighs spread, hips rising higher, Jason opening himself up to display that vulnerable hole.

He _wanted_ this. Jason _wanted_  Percy to do exactly this.

 _Mount_ him, like he was a female.

Percy sat breathless, somewhere between bewildered and thrilled.

He’d never seen a male gorilla get mounted. Would his blackback friends mock him for this? Mock Jason? Would they want to try it themselves? Maybe they _did_ do this, but had never let Percy see.

He leaned in again, hand braced carefully on Jason’s rump to steady his finger as it pushed against Jason again and slipped in this time.

Percy shuddered.

He cooed, letting his dick go to use his second hand to comfort Jason. One hand stroking reassuringly across Jason’s back, one hand slowly pumping his finger in and out of that warm, clinging, silky hole, he sat silently, watching his knuckle disappear and reappear and listening to Jason making small, soft sounds.

 _“Ah! Ah-”_ It was delightful.

Percy pulled his finger out and the hole immediately slipped closed. He glanced down at himself for a moment comparing his own size against the destination. He frowned, unsure, but shuffled forward anyway, pushing the head of his cock against that star-furled opening. He pushed. Jason yelped but stayed where he was, widening the stance of his knees. Percy pushed harder. No progress. He could feel Jason twitching around him, but the hole itself didn’t yield.

He pulled away, bending down to sniff at Jason. Deciding the smell wasn’t too sickly or repugnant, he licked at it. Jason yelped again, shaking, but didn’t pull away.

“Jason?”

“Yes?”

“I can… lick?”

“Yes. God, yes.”

Percy did just that, kissing the hole and working it open with the tip of his tongue, letting his spit trail all over the area, slicking up the dusty rose skin and coarse hairs, listening to Jason moan and beg and to his great surprise, finding Jason’s ass insistently pushing back onto his face, asking for more.

When Jason’s arms failed him and he fell onto the ground, ass still up in invitation, Percy decided to try again. He straightened up, spit in his hand to get the saliva all over his dick and tried to push in again.

It didn’t happen all at once—Jason took him in with small swallows.

A quick slip followed by slow pressure repeated over and over until Jason threw a hand back and moaned, “Stop.”

Percy couldn’t ask why. Limbs shaking, he kneeled as still as he could with every limb shaking, the pleasure shooting hard back into his body from where he was inside Jason.

“Slowly. Percy, move. Slowly.” Jason was panting under him.

At Percy’s first motion, Jason shuddered so hard it traveled to Percy's body and ran up and down his spine. This was-

Percy dug his fingers down into the front of Jason’s ribcage, his belly, his thighs, his hips, trying to ground himself but unable to get enough of touching that smooth perfect flesh, all its different soft spots and bony angles.

Jason whimpered and started to move under him. Sliding on and pulling off. Onrushing pressure and maddening pulls. Percy met Jason’s limited motions with force and possession, the body around him less hot and silky now and instead course and scorching, too much texture, too much pleasure. Jason was yelping. Percy could see his elbow jerking, could hear the wet noise of Jason jerking his own dick as fast as he could.

Percy's body snapped forward, shuddering and clenching in on itself as he moaned, too much too fast. He gasped as he felt himself twitch and convulse, pleasure waves releasing him from the torture of the intensity.

He panted, lying on top of Jason, hands roaming softly over sticky, soft skin. Jason was so soft that it never stopped being a surprise. His body was built large and impressive, all hard muscle and broad features. But his skin was untoughened by sun or fresh air.

“Jason?”

“I love the way you make me feel.”

Percy picked up his head to study Jason, only able to see his ear. His voice had sounded so soft.

Embarrassed at not having any words good enough for how he felt right now, Percy settled for cooing a reply, holding tighter to Jason’s waist, and settling back down to doze.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason sent Percy off with a kiss and walked the rest of the way himself.

The other members of this trip were probably going to be pissed. He’d been missing for hours. After he and Percy had finished, they’d both rested some, then found a small stream to wash themselves in. And then of course Percy had had to backtrack Jason's progress through the jungle to bring Jason back as Jason had no idea how to return.

“Jason!”

He barely had time to look up from stepping over roots and vines in the gathering darkness when he was being clapped on the shoulders, jostled into the firelight.

“Good God, man!” Octavian continued to steer him into camp, Luke coming up to flank Jason on the other side, patting Jason down with a look of supreme concern. “We were so worried!”

“Worried?”

Thalia barreled into his chest and the two men stepped away respectfully.

Jason looked around. “What’s happening?”

“ _‘What’s happening?’_ ” Octavian waved his hand in front of Jason’s face. “Have you not been missing for several hours? Did he not kidnap you?”

“Kidnap m-”

“After that brute attacked me,” Octavian said, wringing his hands, “I ran back to get help, and we tried to find you—I led a party straight to where I left you, and there was no sign of you anywhere!”

“ _Jason._ ” Luke’s voice was strained, his face full of bottomless pity. “He had his way with you after all, didn’t he?”

Thalia, still buried in his chest, tensed. Luke’s eyebrows twitched with profound concern. Faces were staring at him.

And Jason couldn’t find a single damn thing to say.

There was a faint ringing in his ears, like fuzzy TV static. His thoughts raced, and he knew he was blushing too furiously bright red.

Thalia sniffed at him quietly, then stepped away to take in his appearance. “Jason.”

“He didn’t,” Jason said quickly, trying to assure her.

Luke stepped in again, his arm around Jason’s shoulders. “Jason, I know it’s hard, but you have to tell us what happened. Octavian told us what the Ape Man was trying to do—we all tried to find you and prevent it. I’m so sorry we didn’t get there in time.”

“No, wait—”

“I’m sorry, Jason. I had to tell them,” Octavian said, eyes full of regret as he clenched Jason’s bicep in support. Jason wanted to cry. He didn’t understand how this had spun so horribly out of control. “I know you wanted to protect him, but this has gone too far. I told them about the obsession that man has with you. How he tries to get you alone, how he comes by in the middle of the night to watch you. Others have seen him too—” there were some emphatic “Yeah,”s that came from the watching crowd, “How he hangs around in the branches at night, hoping for you to wake up so he could lure you away.”

Jason tried again, reaching for Thalia’s wrist and gripping it like a lifeline. “Wait—”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Luke said in broken tones. “We all saw how strong he is, we would have helped you before he— before he…” Luke trailed away, unable to hold Jason’s gaze. It was so convincing, Jason almost thought for a second that he _had_ been raped.

“Why don’t you guys let _Jason_ talk for a moment?”

Jason snapped to look at the speaker. Nico stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring at Luke.

“Of course!” Octavian agreed and squeezed Jason’s arm again. “How are you? Can you walk alright? Can I get you anything?”

If possible, the flush on his face and his need to drop through the ground and disappear got worse. _Can you walk alright?_ How many people were now imagining Jason in that position? How many would notice that he _was_ moving a little awkwardly?

“I’m fine. It wasn’t like that,” he murmured, the sense of confusion rising to a panic.

“Wasn’t like that?” Luke asked. “Jason, I think you’re still in shock. Come, let’s get you to sit down. Does it still hurt? Come on, you can lean on me.”

“I don’t need to lean, I’m fine!” Jason finally pulled away from their hands, pushing close to Thalia. Why wasn’t she saying anything? “It wasn’t like that. Percy didn’t force me to do anything.”

“What? You just willingly spread them for some jungle man?” The question came from one of Octavian’s employees and he eyed Jason with disgust.

“Daniel! Can’t you see he’s in shock? Have a heart,” Luke hissed, guiding Jason to the fire.

“So what if he did want to have sex with Percy?” Will rounded on Daniel. “Who the fuck are you to judge?”

“And why the hell are you two assuming Jason’s not telling the truth?” Reyna said, appearing in front of Luke and pushing him off Jason. “Maybe Octavian saw things wrong. Maybe Octavian’s the one not telling the truth.”

“Now see here, Ms. Arellano,” chimed in another one of Octavian’s employees, stepping close and laying a hand on Reyna’s shoulder. “Octavian’s the most trustworthy person I know. And I’m not about to risk some savage picking us off one by one just because we’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Picking us off?” Jason repeated numbly. “Percy hasn’t hurt anyone.”

“Right, I just gave me this bruise myself,” Octavian commented wryly, pointing at his temple, where a large bruise was creeping out from under his hairline.

“Percy was protecting me from you!”

The silence rang. A moment passed. Two. Then Octavian and Luke both started to laugh. Luke cut himself off abruptly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. Jason, please, sit. I’ll get you some water.”

Meanwhile, there spread a ripple of angry murmuring. _“Protect him from Octavian?” “What the fuck was Octavian gonna do to him?” “Is he running a fever?” “He’s not right in the head.” “No wonder Octavian ran, between a savage and a crazy person.” “This is the thanks Octavian gets?”_

Octavian had stopped laughing. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starting to really want this Ape Man on a leash before he does any more damage to Jason or anyone else.”

“That’s fucking bullshit, Octavian,” Nico said as he squared up to his boss, glaring up at him. “You still want to take the guy back and experiment on him. May I remind you you’ve got no business kidnapping people in the name of science?”

Daniel shoved him. “No one’s kidnapping. Octavian’s right, the ape is dangerous on the loose. Who knows how he terrorizes local villagers?”

“He doesn’t!” Charon had stepped in to back Nico’s play. “The man is a legend! A hero of the jungle!”

Daniel shoved Charon’s shoulder and the man shoved back, snarling. “Nico is right!” Charon continued. “You have no right to restrain him.”

Octavian spread his arms, stepping into Charon’s space. “Let’s put it to a vote, then.”

 


	8. Timing of the Ape Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my many thanks to the lovely [Carpe](https://carpedm87.tumblr.com/) ([Ao3 link](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CarpeDM/pseuds/CarpeDM)) for all her beta work on this fic.

**CHAPTER 8**

Percy hadn’t shown up last night.

Jason had thought that was a good thing and would give him a chance to talk down Octavian’s employees. It turned out to be the opposite. They woke up even more fired up about capturing the Ape Man.

Nico and Thalia had spent all day arguing with everyone that fell underfoot. No one listened. “We already voted on it.”

By late afternoon, Octavian had called a halt to prepare for Percy when he arrived.

By then, Will and Reyna and Charon were arguing too. The whole camp was submerged in an endless hissing and growling.

Jason had given up trying to say anything. He had the most to lose if Percy was captured; he was the most invested in keeping Percy safe. But every time he tried to argue anything, he was mocked and ridiculed in ways he had never had to experience before. It was… _distressing_ to finally hear all the things he’d only ever imagined before in paranoid fantasies. Even Octavian’s comments had been more tolerable. They were harassing and disgusting, but at least there was no cruel edge of homophobia to them.

The things _these_ men said about him, however…

Octavian didn’t seem affected by them. Whenever Jason met eyes with the man, they were steady and unflinching, no matter what was currently being said about queer men. His new allies, however, seemed to feel the full weight of the words as much as him. Will’s shoulders seemed to shrink with every hateful word, and Jason could see the pain and rage in Nico’s face, even though the man didn’t respond to the abusive comments and continued arguing about the issue of the capture.

They all bore it with as much stoicism as they could muster.

After a while of being silenced in this awful way, Jason realized he could do something better than try to reason with Octavian’s employees.

Pacing back and forth across the clearing of their camp, he kept his eyes peeled to the trees. If he wanted to prevent this, he had no choice but to be the first to see Percy. He had to yell a warning.

He rolled through potential phrases he could use that Percy would understand immediately. When guns were involved, every second counted.

He heard a disturbance in the leaves to his right and turned that way, peering into the shadows. It was hard to tell things apart in the thick foliage of the jungle, and he knew from past experiences that Percy wasn’t as obvious in his movements as other people. He knew how to make an unobtrusive approach.

Jason returned to scanning.

Odds were, Percy wouldn’t show up until nightfall. Maybe he should get some rest now so he could keep a watch out when Percy was more likely to show up. He was certain that Octavian would set up a watch, and Jason would be more able to help Percy if he was alert through the night.

A gunshot rang out.

The bang slammed through Jason’s ribcage and thundered in his ears. Then there came a loud crack from behind him, and Jason spun, searching for what happened.

Percy lay on the forest floor just past the edge of the clearing, clutching his arm.

“Percy!”

The first man Jason passed as he rushed to help tried to stop Jason.

Jason decked him and kept going.

He didn’t see the fist that cuffed him in the ear, but he did see when big hulking Daniel stepped in his way. Jason swung his fist, missed, ducked, tried to run forward, and then his senses were slammed with a loud ringing and a faint sense of pain somewhere on the back of his skull. He remembered hitting his knees, and then he lost consciousness.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Percy sat scowling, glaring at the men wandering free through the camp.

His arms still stung from where it had been injured, but it had been wrapped up and now he was more furious than wounded.

Jason had come to a little while ago, but his head wound seemed to have left him dazed and confused. He was sitting tied up with some others on the other side of the clearing. The other people were more alert than Jason, though also in various states of injury. They flung insults and angry rants at anyone who walked by.

What was happening?

 _Why_ was this happening?

The blond man, Octavian, appeared to be in charge. Was this Percy’s fault? Because he’d hit the man? Because Octavian was jealous of Percy?

Taking a deep breath, Percy yelled again.

The men in the camp seemed to think he was yelling nonsense, but if he was lucky, someone might be in the area, and…

He settled back to watch the camp pack things. As far as he could tell from a combination of the words he knew and their vehement hand gestures, they were arguing about how to travel the way they’d come now that they didn’t have a cooperative guide. Some were saying they could make the guide cooperate. Some were saying they could keep traveling forward to their original destination with the prisoners in tow. Some wanted to leave the prisoners here and move forward with less baggage.

Percy watched the people who were tied up across the clearing. The tall, handsome black man must surely be the guide, as he looked like the locals. The woman with the shockingly black hair looked like she might be Jason’s sister.

He studied the others, trying to find more clues, but there were none.

Looking around to make sure no one was within hitting distance, he yelled again.

The first few times he’d yelled, he’d been punched for his efforts. But no one seemed interested in walking over to him if they weren’t already close. There was a lot to pack and a lot to argue.

Percy glanced at the trees. It was getting dark.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

Jason’s head didn’t clear until the morning.

He’d stayed awake most of the night because Thalia and Reyna took turns shoving him awake, reminding him he probably had a concussion.

Jason glared at Octavian as he walked by. “Guess you think this is all worth it?”

Octavian smiled without stopping. “I do, actually.” Then a bit louder, he continued, “I can sleep a lot sounder now that the threat has been neutralized.”

“Amen!” was echoed through camp.

“Jason, hush.” Thalia elbowed him. “That won’t help right now.”

Jason wasn’t listening. He was staring at Octavian who had turned back when no one was watching to give Jason a smug sneer. The bastard still thought that at the end of this, he would still somehow get Jason alone and get what he wanted.

 _Of course_ he thought that. Bastard.

Jason cursed and sat back against the tree behind him. If it came to that, Jason would bite his own tongue off before he had to live through that.

Percy was staring at him.

Jason stared back.

Percy’s eyes darted away.

Jason sighed. Did Percy blame him? What could Jason have done differently to protect him? Percy frowned at him and then jerked his head. Jason turned to look, scanning the foliage.

In the dark shade of branches, barely visible unless you were looking, were two gorillas watching the camp. Jason looked around, but there weren’t any others. He turned back to Percy. Now what?

Percy visibly sighed and shrugged his shoulders, and Jason sagged. He’d hoped this meant that Percy had a plan. Instead, it was quite possible that Percy got his attention because the stakes had been raised even higher. What would Octavian’s lackeys do to the gorillas if they saw them? Shooting them was far more likely than throwing stones to scare them away. What if more gorillas showed up? They’d seen Percy approach, but that was when they were on the lookout for intruders. The gorillas blended into the shadows better, so there was a chance they would go unobserved. But what if they decided to move in to save Percy?

Jason had to think of something.

He looked around. Most of the camp still looked busy, heads down in their packing as they readjusted supplies and rebalanced loads now that their plans had changed. Most were carrying some sort of weapon but not minding it. Only Octavian restlessly paced the camp, his eyes sweeping over everything to ensure it was being done correctly.

Some of the branches on the other side of the clearing shook. Three more gorillas appeared. Then after a pause, a fourth stepped out.

Jason suddenly got the feeling that these were only the first reinforcements. All of Percy’s shouting had worked. And Octavian was still pacing. One paranoid glance up and he would see them. One shout from him and everyone would reach for their guns.

“Octavian!” The man spun around, and Jason invited him closer with a jerk of his head, setting the world spinning. “A word?”

Octavian stalked up with a pleasant smile. “How can I help you, Mr. Grace?”

Jason stayed quiet and only nodded to invite him even closer.

Octavian cautiously kneeled, careful to stay out of range of opportunistic headbutts. “How can I help you, _Jason?_ ”

“What will it take you to let Percy go? He doesn’t deserve this treatment.”

“More than you’re willing to give, Jason,” Octavian replied with a chuckle.

“Wanna bet?”

The air stilled. Octavian’s eyes were wide and wild as he searched Jason’s face. Jason wasn’t breathing, and on either side of him, Nico and Thalia were stiff as boards.

“Deal. _Now_.” Octavian pressed in close, his breath hot on Jason’s face. “I want it now. Payment up front or no deal.”

“In front of everyone?” Jason sneered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you for a walk first. No one’s going to hear you scream and beg except me.”

For effect, Jason glanced over Octavian’s shoulder at where Percy was sitting. Percy was glaring daggers into the back of Octavian’s skull, and Jason swallowed, shutting his eyes.

“Fine. The faster we do this, the faster he’s free.” Octavian was already reaching past him to untie him from the others, and Jason got in his face, growling. “But you will let him go after, or we will make your life miserable for the entire rest of this trip until you free him.”

Octavian met his hard stare. Then he looked around quickly, and seeing that everyone else in camp was distracted, forced a kiss to Jason’s lips. “I said, _‘Deal.’_ Now keep quiet.”

He hauled Jason up in one swift motion. Jason struggled to keep his stomach in place as his head pulsed horribly and nausea pulled at his throat.

“Jason, no!” Thalia protested, struggling with her restraints.

But Octavian was already frog marching Jason away. Luke looked up, wiping sweat from his brow, as they passed him.

“Everything alright?”

“Yes. We’ll be back soon.”

And then they walked out into the trees.

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘

“Shouldn’t we walk a little further?” Jason questioned from where he’d been thrown unceremoniously face-first to the ground. “I thought you said something about being the only one to hear me.”

“We’re far enough.”

They _were_ far. There were only the sounds of the forest around them. Jason wondered if this little venture would help at all. What if Luke took over managing everything and looked up? Jason would be too far away to help anything.

But he had his own problem to deal with now.

Octavian’s hands slipped over his hips, unbuttoning Jason’s pants as he kissed down Jason’s ear and neck.

“How long I’ve wanted this. And look at you, all docile. I knew it. I knew that in the end, I would have you like this, submissive and easy, not kicking and screaming.”

Jason shut his eyes. Odds are that the gorillas wouldn’t leave. He needed to keep Octavian here, and he would rather suffer this with dignity than any other way. The next thing Octavian said only confirmed that he was trying to rile Jason up.

“Maybe I should have fucked you back there. In front of the Ape Man. In front of your sister. Your friends. And then I would have let each and every single one of my guys fuck you too.” Octavian had wrestled down Jason’s pants and was now gripping Jason’s balls painfully, making Jason squirm. “They were already grumbling about you being a whore, spreading it for the Ape Man, so they would have enjoyed putting you in your place. All of them, one at a time, over and over and over until you lost consciousness.”

Jason yelled in pain, trying to flail his bound hands at Octavian. Octavian laughed and finally let go of his balls. Jason panted, groaning. He tried flexing his arms just in case, but the rope dug painfully into his wrists and didn’t yield.

Slick fingers rubbed between his cheeks without any preamble, and Jason clenched, forgetting to breathe. Taunting Octavian with this seemed like a much better idea when it wasn’t actually happening. Something heavy and hot touched Jason’s thigh and he shuddered.

A calloused finger spun around, changed angle, and pushed at his rim.

_Bang!_

Octavian froze.

It was a gunshot, somewhere in the direction from which they’d come.

Silence.

Octavian started to get up, and suddenly another gunshot ran out.

“Goddamnit!” he stood up, shoving Jason hard into the ground, and started running back towards camp, stuffing himself back in his pants as he went.

Jason watched him go, terrified of what those gunshots might mean. Then he started struggling upright and pulling up his pants as best as he could. He didn’t know if he could make it back in time to make a difference, but he wasn’t going to show up late to a massacre if there was any chance he could help.

He stumbled, pulled at his pants again, then tried to run faster, fighting against the headache.

A huge shape dropped in front of him and Jason ran right into it. The two of them spun, and strong arms grabbed his waist.

“Jason!”

Jason gasped, looking up at Percy. Then, unable to return the embrace, leaned into Percy’s neck. “Oh, thank God.” He pulled away again. “How is everyone? Untie me!” He spun around and pushed out his wrists as much as he could. “Did you see Octavian?”

“Saw. Swung for Jason.”

“Oh, bless you. But Octavian has a gun and it’ll be bad if he gets back and starts shooting.”

Percy’s fingers worked quickly, but Jason was already trying to move ahead.

“Wait, Jason. Wait.”

He undid the last of the knot, and grabbed Jason’s tricep, pulling him forward. They sprinted through the foliage, Jason’s headache getting worse with every moment.

They were getting close to a lot of noise when suddenly there was a flash of color, a figure, and they both stopped dead, face to face with Octavian. He had his gun trained on Percy.

Over their panting breaths, Jason could hear the hooting of gorillas. He wasn’t an expert, but it sounded excited rather than panicked. There seemed to be some angry human shouting but no screaming. Hopefully that meant no one had gotten hurt too bad.

“He came to save you again, huh?” Octavian asked, waving his gun. “If I’d known you enjoyed playing the damsel so much, I would have arranged something I could save you from a long time ago.”

“Percy came to make sure I was alright.” Jason said, tired and venomous. “But there was nothing to save me from. I set that situation up myself. And you fell for it, desperate as you are.”

Octavian’s eyes widened, and he aimed at Jason instead. “You do know I’m holding a gun? I can still fuck your pretty corpse, you know.”

“You do know there’s a gorilla about to drop on your head, right?”

Octavian looked up.

Jason pushed the gun out of his face, and Percy rushed Octavian.

There was a loud bang, Jason’s ears rung, and then he found himself on the ground, pinning Octavian's arm and gun down with his weight, while next to him, Percy had the rest of the man restrained.

Thalia and Charon came running through the trees.

“Jason! Jason, you’re bleeding!”

 


	9. Chapter 9

They had matching bullet wounds now.

Percy had his on his right arm, and Jason’s was on his left.

It had hurt terribly once he saw it and the adrenaline from tackling Octavian had abandoned him. 

“It’ll be the fastest way, William,” Charon was insisting.

William sighed and spread his arms. “You’re the expert.”

Will and Nico stood with Charon over a row of the men who had planned Percy’s capture. Everyone had been restrained and tied down to sit on the ground. Now, Jason watched as the three of them debated the best way to get the law involved.

Jason jumped. “Ow!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Percy said with a grin, patting Jason’s shoulder. He’d insisted on being the one to take care of Jason’s arm now that things had finally settled down some. He’d sent some gorillas after the bright violet berries that he’d treated Jason’s previous injuries with. The orange juice of them had once more numbed the wound, but Percy’s fumbling with the bandage had woken the pain up for a moment.

Jason settled back down as the pain faded again. He wanted to slip away into sleep but everyone else was still alert and busy so he fought with his tired lids to stay awake.

“Jason safe,” Percy murmured across his cheek and nuzzled in to kiss Jason’s ear. He’d been repeating it at random moments since Octavian was first tied up, and it made Jason's heart melt.

Jason pressed his forehead to Percy’s. “And you’re safe too.”

Thalia sat down on Jason’s other side with a great crunch of foliage. 

“Reyna and I were thinking-”

Reyna sat down too, more graciously.

“-it would be a shame if we invested all this time and money in this trip, and then we all had to go back because Octavian decided to be a dick.”

“Yeah,” Jason said, frowning at the loss of the tender moment.

“So we were thinking we’d stay,” Reyna said. “Especially to maybe study the apes? This is an unprecedented opportunity.” She eyed Percy meaningfully.

Jason sighed. “You mean study Percy.”

“No, I think we’ll leave that to you.”

Jason looked between the two women. “What?”

“Well, it’s not like I can leave my little brother all alone out here in this jungle with a strange man I barely know, and it would be a shame to cut this romance so short…” Thalia raised her brows, full of suggestion.

Jason looked to Percy who met his gaze with confusion.

“What? Alright?”

Jason laughed and leaned in to kiss him.

“ _ Ideal. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> For more Percy/Jason fic and art, or to ask questions about this fic, my blog is [razielim](https://razielim.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Thanks again to the wonderful Carpe (ao3 CarpeDM; tumblr carpedm87) for all her help betaing this fic, and patting my shoulder when I cried about not wanting to finish it, and all her encouragement on ALL my projects over the past few years.


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